Almost in Love
by Paradigm of Writing
Summary: It's what happens to your heart after the stars fall. Love can cause people to do many crazy things, which sometimes ends in disaster. Will you be lucky? Series of nine one-shots. Contains multiple pairings
1. Chapter 1: Close to one Another

**Hey everybody, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand-new story called Almost in Love. It will be a set of 9 humorous one-shots revolving around the theme of love, riddled with moments of drama and laughter. The characters will be Frank and Hazel, Silena and Luke, Leo, Piper, and Katie, Reyna and Octavian, Chris and Clarisse, Nico and Percy, Annabeth and Will, Thalia, Pollux, and Bianca, and finally Rachel and Travis. Each chapter revolves around some romantic setting, so everyone in this play is romantically involved with someone before, during, or after the scene is finished. **

**This story is heavily, and I mean heavily inspired by a Broadway play I was in October 29th and 30th at my highschool named Almost Maine. But, now, it is We are Almost in Love. Each chapter has a song that goes well with the events happening in it. The song for this chapter is I Choose You by Sara Bareillis. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, Close to One Another. **

***Note* This story is all AU, but every character knows one another unless stated otherwise. The setting is New York City, present. Each character is 21 or older.**

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><p>Hazel Levesque was timid, shy, quiet, conservative, and creative. Frank Zhang was the same way, and it was why both of them made great best friends. They stuck with each other through the thick and thin, and even survived the tortures of college together. Something, but neither of them knew what, was inside them. Whenever they were around each other, their actions suddenly became awkward and sometimes repulsive. Hazel spent a long time trying to configure the reason why she felt so distant around someone who was supposed to be her best friend. The answer hit her as the two of them were sitting together on a bench out in Central Park. Considering the two planned to stay out later than midnight on their little date, Hazel knew she had to say it before her own consciousness ate away at her heart.<p>

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><p>Hazel bit her lip, looking over at Frank who was looking up at the night sky with admiration, his glossy oak eyes scanning the dark sky for the constellations he studied day in and day out. Depending on what day it was, would determine what stars Frank saw. If she didn't spill out her emotions in the next few moments, the night would go to hell and the chance of even dating him would never see the light of day again.<p>

"I'm having a nice time." she commented, shuffling her arms inside her winter jacket as a breeze shifted through the couple.

Frank smiled and faced her. "I'm glad Hazel."

"I always have a great time when I'm with you." Hazel added, trying to make the clueless boy get a hint for once.

The smile returned, the same reply echoing inside her ears. "I'm glad." he said.

Hazel looked back up at the sky, her eagerness starting to peak. "I mean, the stars are just so beautiful. I didn't know you knew all that stuff. How'd you learn about them all?"

"Oh, just stuff my dad taught me. Simple really. You just have to master the wonderful concept of coordinates, longitude and latitude. Simple stuff like that." Frank confessed.

"Oh. Great." Hazel said softly.

Silence enveloped them, and the only thing that could be heard was the quiet, but annoying chirping of the crickets that liked to pester the night. Hazel bit her lip again, because Frank was almost clueless as a doorknob. Time to change gears...

Hazel turned back to her crush. "Frank?"

He looked at her with his soft eyes. "Yeah, Hazel?"

She wasted no time. "I love you."

Silence... and all Hazel could think of was cuss words racing through her mind, how she now made herself look like a bumbling idiot. Frank turned away, the color draining from his face. What thoughts running through his mind... Hazel had no idea what he could've been thinking. She prayed. Hopefully it was good, well hopefully.

Frank turned back to her, and held her hands in his. "I love you too."

Relief flowed over Hazel, the feeling of anxiety lifted off her shoulders with one well placed punch. "Oh!" she said happily, a smidge of relaxation slipping through her words.

Frank moved closer to her, his face creasing in worry. "Are you cold? We can go get some hot chocolate if you want?"

"Oh no," Hazel declined quickly, scooting away from him in urgency. "I just want to be close, like this," she scooted closer to him, starting to change her emotions around. "I mean, I always loved being close to you. I can think of _other _ways we can be close together, but... I mean that's not what I'm tying to get at! I... I'm content," she babbled. She laid her head on Frank's shoulder. "Right now, I'm probably as close to you as I can possibly be."

Frank shook his head, moving himself upward to cause Hazel to lift her head up. "Actually, not really."

Hazel was flustered, the red rising to her cheeks. "What? What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, we aren't really close to each other at all. We aren't close in any shape or form whatsoever. The farthest you can be away from someone is actually if you're sitting right next to them," Hazel slid over, her face registering disbelief at the spectacle in front of her. Frank continued on. "If you think about it technically, if the world is round, like a snowball," he picked up a ball of snow and clumped it in his hands. "Then the farthest away you are from a person is truly if you're right next to them," He rounded his finger around the snowball. "Now, if I'm here," indicating the top of the snowball, "And you're here," indicating Hazel as if his finger was sitting right next to him. He motioned his hand around the snowball once, and locked eyes with her. "I mean, that's kinda far."

Hazel stood up, getting the message loud and clear. "Yeah."

Frank smiled. "But, now you're closer," Hazel walked a few steps from the bench. "And closer," she walked some more. "And closer."

Hazel looked at Frank one last time, and felt the tears about to burst. "Yeah..." she said softly. Then, without any heed to Frank, she ran off crying, her wails echoing into the night.

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><p>Frank checked his watch, the time reading 10:30 P.M. He had sent Hazel away little than less an hour ago. "<em>Where is she," <em>he thought angrily. Exasperated, he shoved his hands into his jacket, trying to shield himself from the cold front. Looking down both ways of the path that led to the bench, east and west, he was let down to not see a person running towards him. Hazel probably was not returning. Frank sat lower in the bench, shuddering as the wind chill made his body freeze all over. "_She'll be back. She always comes running back. Why would this be the exception?"_

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><p>It was 11:30 P.M. By that time, Frank was overcome with exhaustion, and his breath was less controlled, shaky spasms rocking his chest as the chilling air around him began to deteriorate his warm soul. As he was right about to get up and call quits on Hazel ever returning is when he saw her.<p>

He smiled as Hazel approached, the girl's smile larger than ever before. She motioned her head towards the snowball, and Frank eyed it with uncertainty. He picked it up and circled his finger around the ball of ice once more. He looked back at her, and saw the true gleam of love in Hazel's eyes. Frank smiled, and invited her to sit with him.

Hazel began to move, but Frank had other plans. As she came closer, he stood up. Grabbing her with his hands, he pressed his lips to hers, feeling the warmth that accompanied the kiss. As they broke apart, he leaned into her ear. "Now, we are as close to each other as we can possibly be."

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><p><strong>I know you have probably no idea what just happened, so I'll explain it to you as simple as I could. Frank's scenario with the snowball is that Hazel simply put out her love to him without any explanation. They truly weren't close to each other at all, because explaining affection only takes you as far as it can. Hazel had to travel around the 'world' and figure out her feelings before returning. Hazel came back to Frank, but this time she went in a circle, returning to the same person she loves. I hope that makes sense! If it doesn't, I'm at a loss for you then!<strong>

**More chapters will be coming up. The next chapter is called Her Heart, and it deals with the romantic capacities of how mutual feelings can evolve from just plain strangers. This story, as a whole has elements of fantasy. There will be more coming soon, so I hope you enjoy it!**

**~Paradigm **


	2. Chapter 2: Holding Her Heart

**Hey everyone! Paradigm of Writing here again with the second chapter in Almost in Love, Holding Her Heart. Today, you get to see a glimpse of Silena and Luke fall in love with one another! This chapter has moments of humor in it unlike any story I've ever written before. I hope you all get a good laugh out of this one like I did. Well, the first chapter has certainly blown up! I'll be uploading these chapters very quickly, like this story will be finished by next weekend. I'm posting two chapters today, the first one, Close to one Another, and this one- Holding Her Heart. Tomorrow, I should post at least one, called To Misconstrue Your Feelings.**

**The song for this chapter is We Found Love by Rihanna. This story is heavily influenced by the Broadway play Almost Maine. All characters are 21 or older, the setting is in New York, each character knows one another unless stated otherwise, and... the story is an AU. Enjoy Chapter Two!**

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><p>It was an ordinary night for Luke Castellan. Once he left the auto repair shop he worked at, when his shift at 8 P.M was over, he'd drive to the local McDonalds and order a cheeseburger, small fry, and a medium coke. It cost him four dollars every night, spending twenty-eight dollars of his normal salary. Once home, he'd eat and watch whatever news channel he felt like for an hour. Sometimes it was CNN, Fox, or some crappy local station that always sucked on the ratings chart. By that time, it was nearly 10:30. He'd go and shower, to clean all the oil off his body. Then, once he showered, he brushed his teeth, straightened up the kitchen one last time and went to ditch his night clothes for a bath robe. It was the same robe he wore since college, and it was washed every Friday night. He was used to ordinary, he was used to the routine, the simplicity of it.<p>

Tonight was not the case.

As he shuffled around to make one last inspection of his house before going to bed, he saw her. Luke paused in his tracks, the shuffling of his slippers causing him to momentarily lose his footing. He gripped the counter for support, and gazed at the lady outside his house. She was standing in the front yard, staring up at the sky. Luke hesitated in his motions, unsure of whether or not he should make a break for his room and get the shotgun from underneath his bed, or to face his fears of the unknown. Ultimately deciding he had nothing to lose, he reached for his front door and wrenched it open. The lady out in the front yard jumped a mile high, the sudden sound causing the poor girl to leap in fright.

Luke closed the door as soft as he could. "Hello."

The lady, who calmed herself down from the small scare turned back to face the sky. "Hello."

He eased up to her slowly, his body tense. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh no, don't mind me," the woman jaunted happily. "I'm just here to see the Northern Lights!"

Luke frowned. Was this woman delusional? You had to be somewhere around the Canadian border to see the Auroras Borealis. New York City was by far one of the least ideal places to see them. "Are you sure? You know that this isn't-"

"Oh, I'll see them!" the woman cut him off.

Luke squinted into the darkness, and saw a tent. "You... you pitched a tent?"

"So I have a place to sleep." the woman confirmed.

"In my yard?"

"I hope you don't mind!"

Luke didn't know what to say. This lady jumped from one sentence to the next like juggling, you'd never know where'd she might end up. "Um..."

"Do you mind?" the lady asked, biting her lip in uncertainty.

"I don't... I don't know if I mind?" Luke said, his voice peaking up in a question. He really didn't know if he did.

"Oh you do, don't you," the lady complained. "I mean, it said in your brochure..."

"My brochure?" Luke asked confused, leaning into the girl's general area.

"Yeah," the lady said, holding a brochure on the state of New York. "It says that people from New York are different, and that they live the way life should be. They don't get flustered with others, and are always willing to help others! It mentions that they'll let their blood brothers, like hikers and skiers camp out in your yard if they had a real reason to, like how the people in Scandinavia do. I'm a hiker, and I'm where I need to be. I'm here to see the Northern Lights, but you already know that. I've from Arizona, but never really got out to see the world as much as I'd have liked. I've never been this far North before, or East. It feels like the end of the world, and I'm here at the end of the world. Did you know New York has a national park?"

"Um..." Luke started.

"It does," the lady interrupted him again. "And... I kinda don't have anywhere else to go, or know anyone else who'd be as nice as you are, so I was kinda hoping I could stay here. Unless it isn't true. I mean, is it true?"

"If what's true?" Luke asked, unsure of where this lady wanted the conversation to go.

"That if a hiker really needed to camp out in someone's yard for free, you'd let them. Like, really, really, really needed to!"

"If someone really needed to sure, but-" Luke said.

"Oh thank you so much!" the lady yelled happily, throwing her arms around Luke.

The lady detached herself from Luke, and he looked around dumbfounded. The woman looked around, then down at Luke's hands. Her eyes widened. "Um, I need that."

Luke looked down at his own hands and saw that he was holding some bag in his hands, some flimsy paper bag. "Uh, sure." he handed the bag back to the lady.

"Thank you." the lady smiled warmly, and turned back to face the sky.

Luke stepped back slightly, trying to process whatever the hell this strange woman wanted to do. "Okay, you're just hear to see the Northern Lights?"

The woman nodded feverishly. "Yes. Then I'll be on my way."

Luke nodded. "I wish you luck. I do hope you realize that this is New York-"

"What type of job do you have?" the lady asked him, turning around to face Luke.

Luke bit his tongue, unsure of where the question came from. "Um... I'm a auto repairman. I fix things. Doesn't always have to be cars either, necessarily."

The lady giggled. "Oh."

"What?" Luke asked, slightly perturbed.

"I thought that everyone from New York was a taxi driver, an actor, or some drug addict." the lady confessed.

Luke laughed nervously, the woman was really starting to freak him out. "Um no... I'm not any of those. Sorry to burst your bubble madam, but not everyone in New York is a taxi driver, actor, or some drug addict."

The lady blushed. "I've never really been exposed to the outside world."

"_No duh." _Luke thought to himself.

The lady faced him. "Look, I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you. I just have no where else to go, and the yard looked so inviting. You really are nice for letting me HMMPH!" Without warning, Luke grabbed the lady and kissed her on the mouth, as hard as he could.

Some force pushed Luke and the hiker away. Luke locked eyes with her, the lady's expression completely numb. "Um..." Luke trailed off.

"Um... what was that?" the lady asked, her face turning from shock to anger.

"I don't know," Luke confessed. "But, I think I love you."

"_What?_"

"Yeah... I saw you from my window... and I think I love you." Luke said with uncertainty.

"Oh," the lady replied. Her expression hardened. "I'll have you know, I'm not here for that."

"Oh no, I didn't think you were!" Luke quickly blurted out, trying to apologize.

"I'm here to pay my respect." the woman said curtly.

Luke backed away. "Oh..."

"To my husband..." she added.

"Oh..." Luke said, averting his gaze.

"Yeah," the woman responded quietly. "My husband, Beckendorf died recently. On Saturday actually. Old myths from the around this area say that the Northern Lights are really torches of the departed souls of the people that have died, as these souls are making their way to heaven. It takes three days to get there, counting the day the person dies. Well, today is third day and I was hoping to come here and pay my respects to him. I was wanting to not be bothered at all tonight, but what you did a few seconds ago... that bothered me."

"No, I didn't want to bother-" Luke tried to explain.

"And, right now; the situation is telling me to pack up and move on." the lady finished sternly.

"Please, don't go," Luke pleaded, stopping the woman with the gentle touch of his hand on her shoulder. "Look. Just stay here, and see the Northern Lights. I'll go back inside and won't bother you if that's fine. Just consider what I did a very... _warm _New York welcome."

The lady paused to consider her current situation. "Okay... I can manage with that."

Luke smiled, his breathing returning to normal. "Good," he extended his hand out to the woman. "I'm Luke Castellan."

The woman returned the handshake, a small grin peeking out from her wry expression. "I'm Silena. Silena Beauregard."

"Nice to meet you."

... Silence. Luke checked Silena out. Standing at a petite 5'3, her figure was slim and impressive. Her tousled ebony hair was tied in two fishtail braids at her neck, a purple jacket slung over her shoulders. A white winter shirt was underneath that, followed by a washed out pair of jeans. Silena turned to face him, and he saw the prettiest blue eyes ever. Her eyes were as blue as the Pacific Ocean, her smile as white as the clouds in a bright sky.

Both of them stood staring at one another stupidly, till Silena started breathing in real hard. "Oh!"

"What," Luke asked in concern, rushing to her side. "What is it?"

"My heart," Silena cried out, frantically searching over her body. Her eyes cut to Luke's hands, her lips parting halfway. "It's in that bag! Give it back!"

Luke looked down at his hands again, and saw that the paper bag he held in his hands a few minutes ago was back between his fingers. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he handed her the bag.

Silena took it, another smile flashing across her lips. "Thank you."

Luke grinned, then frowned and rewound a few words that Silena just said. "I'm sorry... but did you just say that your heart was in that bag?"

Silena nodded. "Yep."

"Why's it in the bag?"

"It's broken."

"It's heavy." Luke commented, noting the actual heaviness of Silena's organ.

"Yeah. Beckendorf broke it." Silena said, looking down at her shoes.

"Your husband," Luke asked confused. "Your husband broke your heart? How?"

"He went away." Silena whispered, looking away.

"Oh?" Luke said, rising his eyebrows in curiosity.

"He went away," Silena repeated. "With someone else."

Luke's own heart panged. Her husband cheated on her with some other woman. "I... I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Silena said, breathing heavily. "When that happened, I felt like my heart would break inside my chest. That's what happened. It hardened up and cracked in two. It hurt so bad I had to go to the emergency room, and the doctors operating on me had to take it out. When they did, they dropped it on the floor and it broke. Nineteen pieces, it's what my heart shattered in to. Slate. It turned to freaking slate." she shook the bag.

"Great for roofing," Luke joked. Silena glared at him, and he shut up quickly. Another thought came to his mind. "I'm sorry, but if your heart is in that bag, how are you alive? How are you breathing?"

Silena looked down at her chest, and placed her right hand over where her heart should've been. "I have an artificial one."

Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

Silena nodded. "Yeah. It pumps blood like anyone else's does, but it cannot love."

"Why do you carry the broken one around with you?"

"It's my heart." Silena explained, as simple as she could.

"But... it's broken because your husband left you. I don't know why you'd be paying respects to someone if they left you. It sounds like he doesn't deserve any respect." Luke said intensely.

Silena shifted on her feet. "Well, I didn't exactly leave things well with him."

"What do you mean-"

"I wanted to make things right with him!"

"Why?"

"Just because!"

"Because why?!" Luke yelled, angry at how secretive Silena was.

"Because I killed him!" Silena screamed at the top of her lungs, flaring up and spinning in an arc at Luke.

All the anger and tenseness that built up on Luke blew off his shoulder as those four words came spitting out of Silena's mouth. "Oh." was all he said, unsure of whether to hug her, or run away the next moment she moved.

Silena began shaking uncontrollably. "Yeah... I killed him. You see, when I was in recovery at the hospital, Beckendorf came back and he was about to take me home. He confessed to me that he still loved me, and he wanted me back. I had to lay there and tell him that I had a new heart... and it didn't want him back. My new heart would never grow accustomed to him again. That... that just killed him."

"Oh," relief flooded over Luke. He did not have to worry about Silena Beauregard being some psycho murderer. "Oh, you didn't kill him. Like _kill _him."

"Yes I did," Silena shouted. "Beckendorf was so heartbroken that he raced out of the emergency room. He ran out into the street and he didn't see the ambulance rushing in from a call. The ambulance driver didn't see him either."

"Silena," Luke said her name exasperated. Silena began to ramble on and on. Luke breathed heavily, grabbed her by the shoulders, and kissed her again.

Silena pushed him off of her. "Will you please stop doing that?"

"I love you!" Luke yelled.

"I don't want to be loved by anyone Luke!" Silena protested.

Luke grabbed the bag that held her heart out of Silena's hands. "Let me see that."

"Hey, give that back!" Silena shouted. She jumped up for the bag, and Luke held it above his head so she couldn't reach it.

"I need to examine it." Luke explained.

"No you don't," Silena argued. "I have a new heart that can only pump blood. It can't love anyone! _It _doesn't want to love anymore! Give me back my heart. It's my heart Luke!"

"I know," Luke said, bringing the bag down to his chest. "It's your heart, and I have it."

Silena's expression softened, the twinkling in her eyes starting to sparkle again. "But-"

Luke kneeled to the ground and opened the bag, grabbing one of the pieces of Silena's heart. "Silena, hush. I'm a repairman. I fix things, remember? It's what I do."

As he examined the piece of her heart, Silena looked back up at the sky, and her face lit up. The Northern Lights boasted it's stunning show right above the New York skyline. "Oh, they are so beautiful Luke! Um, goodbye Beckendorf. Goodbye," she called out. Silena faced to turn Luke, who looked up at her. The both of them smiled.

"Hello Luke." Silena said, kneeling down to his level. Before he could protest, she kissed him.

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><p><strong>Awwwww! Isn't that just adorable? Silena was the perfect person to play the character she is similar to in the show. This will probably be one of my favorite chapters due to the difference in character personalities, and the mix between comedy and romance. What did you think of the chapter? Please tell me in a review! It'll be really appreciated. Also, while your at it, follow or favorite the story if you really like it, or even follow or favorite myself if you enjoy what I'm writing. Heck, even send me a PM if you want to just talk. I'm always available. I'll see you guys tomorrow with Chapter 3- To Misconstrue Your Feelings. Love you all!<strong>

**~ Paradigm **


	3. Chapter 3: To Misconstrue Your Feelings

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a new chapter in Almost in Love, this time the chapter title is To Misconstrue Your Feelings. I'm going to love this one just as much as Holding Her Heart, because this chapter has romantic feels just all throughout, the perfect mix of drama and the great balance of humor to settle an even feeling for everything. Mr. Leo Valdez takes quite the heat in this chapter, and my heart broke when I made this giggling male have to take such a hurt character.**

**The song for this chapter is Where Have You Been by Rihanna. This song, although it'll be the last one to be inspiring anything in this story, is a great piece for it, you'll really love it.**

***Note* I'm not complaining, but I have over 200 views on this story, several favorites and follows, and not one person has reviewed it. I'm not getting on anyone's grill, but it would be nice to please have someone just tell me what they think. My writing is never half good anyway, so it'd be nice to see how I could improve. A simple comment could truly make my day. I don't write for the praise, or for myself. I write for the people who I know what to be entertained. **

**All characters in this story are 21 or older. All characters know one another, unless stated otherwise. The setting is New York, Alternative Universe. Enjoy Chapter 3!**

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><p>Leo Valdez knew what being in a slump was. If you looked at a dictionary, and looked up the word slump in the 'S' section, you'd see a picture of Leo after his college graduation. It was the only time since childhood that he fell into a period of clinical depression. His girlfriend, Piper McLean had separated from him the day after he graduated. No warning, she had just got up and left in the middle of the night. There was a note on the refrigerator in his apartment explaining why she suddenly dropped everything and booked, but it was not enough to satisfy Leo's need for answers. From what he could remember, he never did anything to cause Piper to stray from him. Whatever he did to try and support her, it just wasn't enough.<p>

Tonight was like no other night, a simple night that he was definitely used to. After work was over, at the auto repair shop with Luke Castellan, he'd go to the Ginger Ale Company, a local bar in downtown Manhattan that actually was quite the popular hangout. After having about six Bud Lights or so, he'd drag his feet across the snow laid ground and get in his grubby truck to drive home for the night. For some reason, on this particular Monday night, the waiters and waitresses were being slower than usual, but there always had to be a reason, right?

He heard footsteps coming from up behind him, but he didn't really think there needed to be any interest in the person passing by. The only thing that caused to him look up from the scrutinizing of his Bud Light bottle was the familiar flash of auburn hair by his eyes. Tilting his head up farther, he got a glimpse of the passerby. His eyes lit up in glee, a smile widened across his lips.

"Piper!" he called out.

The girl, who really was Piper McLean, his old ex-girlfriend, stopped in her tracks and turned around. A look of embarrassment was plastered on her face, but Leo, who was so happy in his discovery that she was indeed still alive stopped any other outside disturbances to enter his brain. Leo hadn't seen Piper in four long years, and they were both 21 when the split came to light.

Piper looked around the general vicinity, to see if she had anyway of getting out of Leo's line of sight. Seeing that she had none, a fake smile opened up. "Leo!" she called back, dry enthusiasm cracking through her words.

Leo jumped up from his chair. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Piper replied back half-heartedly."

"Hey!" Leo repeated.

"Hey?" Piper said, her voice rising up in confusion at the lack of conversation going on between them.

Leo hugged her, Piper's face registered complete disgust and surprise. "How are you doing?" Leo asked, disbelief dripping off his words.

"I'm great," Piper responded. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing _just _fine and dandy!" Leo lied, trying to show the true signs of his depression.

"That's great!"

"Yeah!"

"I mean, that's just great!"

"Yep, it is," Leo said. He looked over Piper's appearance. The girl was dressed far fancier than anyone he'd ever seen before, especially on a Monday night where there was never really anything special to commemorate. "You look great!" he complemented.

"Oh, thank you!" Piper smiled.

"You really do," Leo assured her. "So pretty. So, so pretty."

"... Thank you." Piper said quietly.

Leo's face lit up, as if an idea sparked off in his brain. "Here, sit down."

"I-"

"I mean, I haven't seen you in months," Leo whined. He then turned in his chair to face the Manhattan night traffic. "And months, and months, and months, and _months_. I mean, how does that happen? I haven't seen you since that morning when I woke up... and you were just gone."

"Oh, I don't know." Piper hurriedly spoke to try and defend herself.

Before Leo could utter another word, a new body burst out of the front door and walked right up to them. Leo identified herself immediately as one of the waitresses who sometimes waited on him on the Monday nights when he dropped by. The waitress was holding a tray, five bottles atop it; three full and two empty. Her smile flashed pearly white, her face the epitome of gay. "Look at you tucked away in the corner over here! Lucky I found ya! Is his man and his _lovely _lady ready for another round?"

"Oh," Piper exclaimed, turning to the waitress in desperation. "We're really not together, like _together. _We're all set! Thanks anyways!"

The waitress nodded her head. "Okay. I'll be back up in the front. Call if you need anything."

"Okay." Piper mumbled numbly.

The waitress turned back to her. "No, I'm serious. You need to not only call, but holler. It is busy up front!"

"Okay," Leo called to the waitress, as the white apron disappeared behind the large oak door that held the entrance to the establishment. He turned back to Piper. "Are you here with anybody or..."

"Oh yeah," Piper's face sparkled, as if a golden opportunity presented itself to her. "Yeah, I'm here with the girls we knew back in college. I just had to use the ladies restroom actually. I probably should get going, you know... get back inside."

Leo held out his hand to grab her arm, stop her from moving. "No, Piper, please stay. Come on! They'll survive without you for a minute or two. Sit down and talk to me. Tell me, whatcha been up to?"

Piper closed her eyes, her nostrils flaring. Seeing she couldn't win the war that was her trying to get back in the Ginger Ale Company, she turned around. She opened her mouth to respond. "I-"

"You know I took over my dad's business?" Leo interrupted, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, I heard that!" Piper jumped in just as quickly.

"Yup! I'm running it now. Running the whole show!"

"That's great!"

"Running the whole thing!" Leo boasted, sitting up a little straighter.

"Congratu-" Piper started.

"I'm really running the entire thing!" he cut over her.

"-lations." she finished, her eyes swiping up towards Leo's in a glare.

"Yeah," Leo continued. "We expanded now. Instead of just cars, I now accept trucks, and buses too."

"_Wonderful_." Piper replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"It's a lot of work, Piper. It's a lot of work!"

"I know..." she whispered. Piper griped the sides of the chair, because Leo was already back to acting his old self- self engrossed, and that everything be about Leo all day, every day.

"I'm on call a lot," Leo said. "Holidays, weekends, you name it. That means Labor Day Weekend, Thanksgiving, sometimes even Christmas. I let the guys who help me with repairs, like Luke, have those special times off so they could spend time with the people they care about. I work on those days considering I've got no one to really meet up with in those short time frames."

"Yeah..." Piper trailed off, looking at her hands uncomfortably.

"I mean, my brother and sister got canned, so they left." Leo explained.

"Heard that."

"My parents retired, and headed south."

"Heard that too."

"Pennsylvania," Leo said, laughter rising in his voice. Seeing Piper's perplexed expression, he furthered the reasoning for the move. "Winters there are a lot easier."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and then Spot went and died on me." Leo added somberly, looking down at his lap, a frown forming over his happy expression.

"Oh, Leo, I didn't know that!" Piper consoled him, placing an arm on his shoulder,

"Yeah," Leo whispered, looking back up at Piper. "He was old. It was his time. Good fish though," he cleared his throat. "So, as I was saying, I'm all alone this year. So I was wondering... would you like to come over? Hang out?"

"I-" Piper started.

"I forgot to tell you," the waitress from earlier cried out, bursting through the front door of the Ginger Ale Company. "Monday night special! Drink free if you're sad! So, if you're sad, or you two little _lovebirds _are ready for another Bud or something, you let me know."

"Okay..." Piper said, turning away from the bubbliness of the server in front of her. The waitress skipped off, opening and closing the door to the entrance of the bar.

Leo turned back to Piper. "So, are you in to it? Come over... hang out?"

"No, Leo. I can't." Piper dissented.

"But, I haven't seen ya!" Leo pouted, slamming his foot against the snowy ground.

"No Leo! I... I really can't," Piper stood from her chair, and backed up. She laced her hands nervously. "Yeah, Leo I really gotta go back inside. I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile now, but there's a guy Leo. I've got a guy."

Leo felt as if his heart was ripped out of his chest, stomped on, burned, and then thrown into the fiery pits of hell. "Oh..."

"Yeah..." Piper answered nervously.

"Well, good for you," Leo complimented, trying to brave a smile. "Getting out there again, moving on."

She laughed nervously, running her fingers over the back of the chair skittishly. "Yeah, um Leo... it's more than just getting myself up and moving on. This is my bachelorette party. I'm getting married." To accentuate her point, she showed Leo the engagement ring that was placed on her pointer finger.

...

"Oh." Leo said, sinking down in his chair.

"Yeah..."

"Who's the lucky guy?" Leo asked, sitting up and placing his elbows on the table.

Piper sat back down. "It's uh... Jason Grace!"

"Jason Grace? You mean, the taxi driver for Times Square? That Jason Grace?" Leo asked incredulously.

She nodded feverishly. "Yeah."

"Wow. Jason Grace huh? That guy is a legend. He's _legendary,_" Leo said sarcastically, rubbing his hands over his jeans. "I mean, if you're lost in this big bad city of New York, Jason Grace is the man you want to drive you around. If you are truly lost, Jason Grace is the guy you want to find you. I guess he found you..."

Piper rubbed her neck, the tension starting to become as thick as pea soup. "Yeah Leo. Look, I'm sorry I never got around to telling you. I actually thought you would've known, that you would've heard."

"How would I have heard?" Leo asked challengingly, a bit of rudeness poking out.

"Y'know... people talk." Piper said nervously.

"People don't talk about stuff people don't want to know. If I've got to be honest, that's not something I want to know," he said sternly. Both of them looked down in embarrassment. "So... when's the big event?"

Piper braced a smile as well as she could. "Tomorrow!"

"Oh, that's just _great_!" Leo yelled, fury rising in his voice.

She lowered her hands in defeat. "Yeah..."

Leo blinked, then tilting his head past Piper's shoulder, he cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY!" he shouted.

Piper tensed, her eyes skirting around her. "Leo, what are you doing?"

"We gotta celebrate! You got found," Leo yelled at her. "Waitress! HEY!"

"Leo, seriously what the hell are you trying to do?" Piper asked angrily, leaning in closer to her ex-boyfriend.

"He's quite a guy, Piper." he added, pausing from his imbecile like antics.

"Aw, Leo..." Piper blushed.

"And so are you," Leo supplied. "HEY!"

Piper blinked, and looked at Leo's left arm. A word was written in black ink, the letters quite large. "Hey, Leo! What's that?"

Leo looked down at what Piper was questioning. His eyebrows rose in admonishment. "Oh, that's nothing. Just a tattoo."

"A tattoo?" Piper shrieked.

"Yeah," Leo said simply. "HEY!"

Piper grabbed Leo's wrist and slammed it on the table. Moving his shirt upwards, she saw the word she was staring it. "Katie," she read aloud. She looked at Leo, confusion registering on her face. "Who's Katie?"

Leo dropped his tattooed arm to his side and sighed. "Hate me."

"What?"

"It's supposed to say 'Hate Me'."

"Well, it doesn't say hate me now does it Leo. It says Katie."

"I know," Leo groaned. "The tattoo artist spelled it wrong on my skin. He was Indian, and couldn't pronounce the H sound as well as the other letters. He wrote Katie, instead of Hate Me into my skin."

"_What_?" Piper laughed, disbelief causing the laughter to be louder than she wanted.

"Yeah... I know."

Piper's expression softened. "Wait. Why would you want a tattoo that says 'Hate Me'? Who would want a tattoo with the words hate me etched on their skin?"

"Just cause." Leo said softly.

"Just cause why?" Piper questioned.

"Just cause." Leo affirmed sharply.

"Just cause why?" Piper jabbed at Leo again.

Leo let out an exasperated sigh. "Because... when a guy has got a girl like you, and then drives you away, it's wrong. It's a criminal act. I hate myself for it, and I want others to hate me as well because of it."

"Leo... you didn't drive me away." Piper said softly, running her thumb over his hand.

"Yes I did," he said. "Anyone I date from now on will have to hate me because I asked for it," Leo looked up at Piper. "Can I please kiss you?"

"No," Piper firmly dejected the plead. "Um... Leo? You know you could get that removed y'know?"

"Yeah..." Leo trailed off, looking out to the sky.

"I gotta go." Piper said quietly, getting up from her chair.

Leo watched his ex-girlfriend go back inside, and as soon as her foot crossed the threshold, a loud erupting sound of happiness and glee burst from the entrance. He looked back down at his hands and sighed. As quickly as Piper returned to his life, she left it just as she came back into it. Now, she would be entering someone else's life, but in a whole different situation.

The waitress from earlier came back out, her tray empty. "Sorry about that wait! I heard you waving me down from inside, but I couldn't get to you then. But, I eventually made my way through! So here I am, ready to serve ya! What can I do you in for? Another Bud Light?"

Leo looked away from the waitress, his heart felt like bursting. "Um..."

The waitress frowned. "Oh, buddy I'm sorry. Just remember the Monday night special, drink free if your sad! I can tell from sad, and you are definitely looking the part," she said. Leo did not reply, instead he placed his head in his hands. The waitress rocked on the balls of her feet. "Okay... just say the words. I'll be inside if you need me. Just call for Katie! Call for Katie Gardner!" the waitress said happily, and turned around to walk back inside.

Leo perked his head up. Did the waitress just say her name was Katie, as in the _Katie _etched on his skin in tattoo ink. His eyes frantically searched for her, and saw that she was about to open the door to go back inside the restaurant. "Katie!" he called.

Katie paused from her walking, one hand on the door. "Yeah?"

Leo smiled. "I'm not sad anymore. I'd just like another Bud."

"Alright."

"Oh, and Katie?" Leo added.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you found me."

Katie smiled, and placed a hand over her heart. "Aw! Glad you found me? That's just so adorable!"

Before Leo could respond back, she disappeared into the Ginger Ale Company building.

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it folks! Chapter 3 of 9 is complete! I'll be updating again tomorrow, hopefully at least one chapter. Wasn't that just adorable. The humor in this chapter had me doubling over and laughing my ass off. Please review, it'll really make my day err... night. Weren't Leo and Piper perfect for each other in this scene? I also wonder if Katie and Leo are now going to become a pairing... Well anyways, I hopefully will see you all tomorrow with Chapter 4- Love Hurts with Reyna and Octavian. I love you all!<strong>

**~Paradigm **


	4. Chapter 4: Love Hurts

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with the fourth chapter in Almost in Love. Tonight, we'll focus on Reyna and Octavian, two of my favorite characters introduced in the Heroes of Olympus series, and two of my favorite Percy Jackson series as a whole in all ten books. This chapter, their personalities will be vastly differently from what is normally expected of them in the their own books respectively. **

**The song for this chapter is an odd one, called Figure Eight by Ellie Goulding. It's an interesting song for this chapter, considering the moods will be contrasted extremely.**

***Note* I had a review yesterday that said 'y 9' referring to my statement that To Misconstrue Your Feelings was chapter three of nine. That irked me, but hear me out. The person who typed me that review, you could've PM'd me the question, and I would've answered it. That review was wasted in a sense, considering you could've added some nice criticism or comments about the chapter you read, considering it took me awhile to type. I'm not trying to get on anyone's case, but I would appreciate, that if you have questions, either ask them in a review, that has a review attached to it. I'll answer it in the author notes. Or you can straight PM me the question and I'll answer it in our 'conversation'.**

**Reyna's last name and Octavian's last names- I do not know them. I don't recall if Reyna had her name mentioned, but Octavian's was never mentioned in any of the four books he was in. All characters are 21 or older. All the characters in this story know one another unless stated otherwise. The story takes place in New York, and the setting is AU. Enjoy Chapter 4, Love Hurts**

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><p>Reyna Ergos lived a lovely life in upstate Manhattan, and the life she had was perfect. At the fresh age of 23, she already had a committed boyfriend who had proposed to her back in the early months of 2014. Her wedding for the occasion was set to Christmas Day, 2014. She loved everything about her life, and it loved her back. Growing up in Idaho most of her life, she moved to New York in 2009 when she was 18, having just graduated from high school a week before she arrived. With two suitcases, and fifty thousand dollars in her pocket, Reyna Ergos was ready to start a new adventure on the East Coast of the United States. While she was at a birthday party for her friend Katie Gardner, she ran into man who would soon become the love of her life. Connor Stoll, the younger brother of Travis Stoll would become her future boyfriend, and soon to be future husband.<p>

The first two years of their relationship were what some psychologists and sociologists would call the 'honeymoon period', where things sailed smoothly and there were no omissions in the relationship that had to be made. Connor's job as a waiter at the Ginger Ale Company, alongside working with his own brother at the café they co-owned, he brought revenue home every night. Reyna found the time to enter medical school, she finally had the opportunity to become a nurse; that position was something she wanted to do since she was a little girl back in Idaho. Around June of 2014 however, was when things turned dark for the happy couple. Due to a hurricane sweeping through Long Island and then ravaging through New York City, Reyna's house got caught in the crossfire of things and the house was demolished under the heavy weather. Forced to buy a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with Connor who had also lost his home due to the storm, conditions weren't necessarily considered ideal for them, especially noting that both of them had lived separately from one another in spacious homes. Being all scrunched up together made them very uncomfortable. Then Connor got fired from his job, a position he held for almost six years, working at the Ginger Ale Company was his life long dream that was soon crushed. The bills began rising, and it seemed as if Reyna and Connor could not recover.

It was the first day of August when Connor hit her. During an argument on whether or not the electricity and water bill were to be split up, or each person take one bill, Connor had snapped and slapped Reyna across the face as hard as he could, anger swelling up inside him. She fell to the floor and looked up at her boyfriend longingly, hoping to see the same calm demeanor in them. Instead, as she gazed upward, she witnessed the calmness in Connor's eyes turn into feral outrage. Reyna and Connor made up the next day, but a week later, it was back to the same old argument, and Connor _beat _Reyna, his fury unmatched.

Reyna couldn't believe that something she had taken for granted was about to disappear in front of her eyes. She almost wanted to say no to Connor when he asked her to marry him all the way back in the frigid month of January. She seemed locked in her relationship, there was nothing she could do. All hope was lost for Reyna Ergos.

That was until she met Octavian, Octavian Solace by hitting him on his head with an ironing board.

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><p>Reyna huffed a tuff of her maple hair out of her eyes as she grabbed another shirt from the pile to iron. Connor was to be home in one hour, the time being 10:00 P.M, on November 17th, 2014. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts, she didn't see Octavian Solace sit down on the bench in the laundry room of the apartment complex. Whenever visitors came in, Reyna always took a moment or two to chat with them. She was so taken about finishing her ironing in time, she didn't see the iron get closer to her fingers.<p>

"Ah, dammit!" Reyna hissed quietly, as the hot iron came in contact with her skin. She looked at her watch, and saw how late it was. Deciding she could just finish the ironing back in her room, she unplugged the iron from the wall and dropped it into the clothes basket she brought with her. Throwing the other shirts in the basket alongside the iron, Reyna went to the backside of the bench and faced the wall with the washing machines, her back to Octavian. Closing the ironing board, she picked it up and swung back around, only to slam Octavian in the head with the board. A resonating crack sounded throughout the laundry mat.

"Oh!" the boy cried out, falling to the floor.

Reyna dropped the ironing board instantly, and ran to Octavian's side. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you there! Are you hurt?"

Octavian bounced on the balls of his toes and landed back on the bench in the same position he was sitting in before he was hit. He turned to Reyna and flashed a smile. "No." he replied simply.

"Oh you must be," Reyna hurried over his words. "Where'd I hit you?"

"In the head!" Octavian responded cheerfully.

"In the head? Oh come here!" Reyna cooed, bringing his head closer to her so she could examine it.

"Well, is there any blood?" Octavian asked.

"No."

"Any discoloration?"

Reyna responded the same. "No."

"Then I'm okay!"

"I'm gonna get you some ice." Reyna said, turning to go to the ice cooler.

"No, I can't feel pain like that." Octavian said quickly, grabbing Reyna by the arm.

"Like what?"

"Like when I get smashed in the head with an ironing board." Octavian explained.

"What?" Reyna asked, still confused.

"I don't get hurt." Octavian replied innocently.

"Oh Jeezum Crow," Reyna shouted, crossing to Octavian's right side and sitting on the bench. "What the hell have I done to you?"

"Nothing!"

"Shush," Reyna said, putting a finger to Octavian's lips. "I'm going to be a nurse, so I know. You just took an ironing board shot to the head, and that's serious."

"No," Octavian shrugged off. "I don't think so. See, ironing boards aren't on my list of things that can hurt me."

"What is-" Reyna started.

"Oh sorry," Octavian apologized. He grabbed a notebook that was placed on his left side and showed it to her. The notebook had the word 'Hurt' was written at the top in big gray letters. "I have a list of things that can hurt you. Ironing boards aren't on it. My brother Will is helping me make it."

Reyna furrowed her eyebrows. "Um..."

Octavian wasn't done. He stood up and went around the bench to where the ironing board lied. He picked it up. "See, I bet... if I took the ironing board and hit you on the head with it, it wouldn't hurt." Without hesitation, he swung the board with all of his might at Reyna's head. Even though he hit her with the padded side, another resonating crack resounded from the hit.

Reyna clutched her head in agony, pain registering on her face. "OW!"

Octavian dropped the ironing board and returned to Reyna's side. "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

Reyna locked eyes with Octavian, still placing a hand to her head. "OW! What the hell was that for?"

"Oh, it hurt didn't it," Octavian dropped his gaze. "I thought it wouldn't of hurt because ironing boards aren't on my list of things that can hurt you."

"Well that ironing board hurt me." Reyna said, casting an evil glare at the inanimate object.

"Yeah, and?"

"That means you should at it to your list." she said further.

Octavian nodded, his face lightening. Flipping open the notebook, he pulled out a pen from his jean pockets and wrote down ironing boards. He looked back at Reyna. "Should I be afraid of ironing boards?"

"I'm not quite catching your drift..." Reyna replied, looking at Octavian as if he was crazy.

Octavian showed her another notebook, this time the word 'Afraid' being written on the top in big red letters. "Well, it's because I have a list of things to be fearful of as well, and ironing boards aren't on that list either."

"Well, you shouldn't really be afraid of an ironing board." Reyna said.

"So I shouldn't be afraid of them." Octavian accentuated.

"Right."

"But... they can hurt me?"

"Yes, they can... I suppose." Reyna guessed, her brow creased in thought.

"So I should be afraid of them then?" Octavian asked.

"No, you shouldn't really." Reyna said.

"But, they can _hurt _me." Octavian said, emphasizing the hurt.

Reyna took a second to think about it. "Well, if you used it in the way you used it, yeah... I'd assume so."

A thought came to Octavian's mind, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Oh! So they're kinda like the opposite of God, then?"

"What?" Reyna asked, her gaze suggesting that Octavian might be truly insane.

"Well, that ironing board hurt you but, I shouldn't fear it. But, god, my brother Will says won't hurt me but, I should fear him." Octavian explained.

"I guess..." Reyna said, unsure.

"Boy this is getting complicated."

"What is?"

Octavian looked at both of his notebooks. "When to be afraid, when not to be afraid. When to be hurt, when not to be hurt..."

"Well, you can be hurting and not even looking like it." Reyna whispered, but loud enough so Octavian could hear it.

"What do you mean?"

"There are things in this world that hurt and make you bruised and bloody, and there are things that hurt that don't make you bruised and bloody. The thing is though is that they all hurt," Reyna said. "I'm Reyna."

Octavian smiled. "I'm Octavian. Live on the third floor, room eleven."

"I live with my boyfriend Connor. I... I love him very much."

"I watched you two move in."

"Yeah," Reyna nodded. "Our house got demolished by the hurricane in August, so we're here to try and get our feet back on the ground."

"My brother Will, and I have been trying to get our feet back on the ground our whole lives." Octavian commented, looking down at his shoes.

"I'm sorry."

"I guess it takes some people a lot longer to do it than others." Octavian sighed, leaning back against the bench.

"Yeah." Reyna agreed, looking out the window.

Octavian bit his lip and looked at Reyna. "You guys are loud."

Reyna whirled back to face Octavian, her face as white as a sheet. "Huh?"

"You and your boyfriend," Octavian explained. "I live right below you. I hear a lot of yelling and banging coming from above me."

Reyna's face reddened, her temperature rose. He was referring to the beatings Connor would give her after a bad day happened at work or something. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. He and I are just going through a rough patch. Happens sometimes. Truly, I'm sorry."

Both of them sat in silence for a minute or so, the only accompanying noise being the washing machines in the back churning the clothes together. Octavian turned back to Reyna. "Congenital Analgesia."

"What?"

"Congenital Analgesia," Octavian repeated. "It's the disease I have. It's a hereditary neuropathy type four disease, but it technically means I can't feel pain," he said. His face lit up once more. "I mean, you can hit me if you want to."

Reyna shook her head, but accepted the notebook that Octavian handed to her anyways. "No... I'm good."

"You can hit me in the face with this notebook, and I promise you, it won't hurt me. See?" Octavian said cheerfully, slamming the notebook to his nose.

"OW!" Reyna yelled, the thought of pain racing through her mind.

"Please?" Octavian whimpered, slamming the notebook against his nose again.

"OW!"

"Just one?" Another slam followed.

"OW!"

"Please? Pretty please? Just once." Octavian begged.

"No." Reyna declined sweetly.

"Come on."

"No." Reyna declined again.

"Come on." Octavian urged.

"NO!" Reyna shouted, sliding away from Octavian.

The boy scooted to the opposite side of the bench. "Okay," Octavian huffed. "You don't have to hit me. My brother tells me I should stop telling people about myself. They normally go away. You can go away too, if you want," Octavian pouted. Reyna bit her lip, and looked down at the notebook in her hands. She stood up and went to the other side of the bench, so she was facing the back of his head. He continued his bitter rant. "My brother tells me I scare people when I tell them about myself. So, I actually have recently put myself on the list of things to be afraid of because-"

Reyna smacked Octavian in the back of the head with the notebook. As soon as she hit him, she raced back over to his side. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry I did that! Are you okay?"

Octavian shrugged, and tilted his head back to Reyna. "Well, is there any blood?"

"No." Reyna confirmed.

"Any discoloration?"

"No..."

"Then I'm okay!" Octavian replied enthusiastically.

"Sure, but are you sure?" Reyna questioned.

"Well, of course I am. I don't feel pain, remember."

"Don't feel pain, duh," Reyna felt like an idiot, and sat back down on the bench again. Silence enveloped the two of them. Reyna took another shot at conversation. "So... what's it like?"

"What's what like?" Octavian asked.

"Not being able to feel pain."

"I don't know. I don't have the fully developed pain sensors in my body, so I don't really feel pain. I don't know what hurting really is."

"Is this how you were born?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah," Octavian admitted. "As a child, my brother made me make a list of the things to be afraid of, and a list of things that can hurt me. Lots of deliberation went into making those lists."

"Why'd he make you create one?"

"So I won't ruin myself," Octavian explained. He opened the 'Afraid' notebook and showed her some of the things he wrote down. "I have to be afraid of things like guns, and knives, bears, fear- I should always fear the emotion itself, and pretty girls..." On the last one, he scooted as far from Reyna as he could.

Reyna grinned, and scooted closer to him. "Pretty girls? Why should you be afraid of pretty girls?"

"Because they make you love them. That's something else I'm supposed to be afraid of as well, love that is."

"Why should you be afraid of love, Octavian? Why should anyone fear to be loved or to love someone?"

"Because it hurts." Octavian replied.

"But, it shouldn't really."

"Plus, I have a lot of deficiencies and not many capacities with my Congenital Analgesia. My brother Will says I'm lucky, because I may never have to deal with love."

"Why did your brother say you'll never be able to love?" Reyna questioned, scooting even closer to him.

"Because there's no one I'll ever meet in my life who'd love me. I'm too much of a freak. Besides, I have way too many deficiencies and not very many capacities as a result of my Congenital Analgesia." Octavia said, trailing off and looking out the window.

"You know what," Reyna said, looking at Octavian. "A lot of people do." Then, she grabbed his face and kissed him on the mouth. Octavian dropped his notebooks to the ground.

Octavian broke the kiss first, his expression undistinguishable. "Um..."

Reyna smiled dreamily, then realized what she just did. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry I did that! Are you okay?"

Octavian scooted away from Reyna and pressed his back against the bench. "Well... is there any blood? Or discoloration?"

Reyna laughed. "No, there isn't."

"Then I'm okay..." Octavian croaked.

Reyna sighed, and patted his hand. "I'm sorry I just kissed you Octavian. You're just very sweet."

Octavian looked at her, his twinkling, humorous light gone. "But... you have a boyfriend who you love very much..."

Reyna slid over, separating herself from him. "Yes I do."

"And... you just kissed me."

"Yes, I did." she admitted.

"And, you are here doing your laundry on a _Monday _night." Octavian said.

Reyna looked back at her basket of clothes. "Yes... I am."

"Couples that are in love with one another don't spend their time alone. They hang out, and go to the movies, or go ice skating, hell they even go to the Ginger Ale Company if they want to forget the night. I've learned that much, Reyna. They certainly don't do their laundry on a Monday night no less, and they for sure don't kiss other people. You know what Reyna? I don't think you and your boyfriend are in love. I don't think what you two have is love." Octavian lectured sternly.

Reyna stood up abruptly. "I... I gotta go. I said I'd be back in the apartment by 10:30, and if I'm not there... well, he doesn't like that."

"Your boyfriend?"

Reyna nodded. "Yeah..."

Octavian stood. "Boy, I'll have to tell Will about this!"

"Wait, don't tell your brother Will about this!" Reyna shouted, leaping back to his side in a flash.

Octavian jumped slightly. "What-"

"Tell your brother to stop teaching you what he thinks he knows about your condition, Octavian. You need a doctor, not your brother." Reyna added, sitting the boy back down on the bench.

"But-"

"Look... I really need to go." Reyna said, changing her mind and going back from behind the bench to get the ironing board.

"I forgot about that," Octavian lamented. "You're indeed leaving me. I knew you would. Most people do. They run back to the safety of their apartment, to get away from the freak who doesn't feel."

"No," Reyna interrupted him. "I told you. Connor-"

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Reyna said. "Connor doesn't like when I've been gone longer than I said I would, and I've been down here longer than I said I would." She grabbed the ironing board in her hands, her back facing Octavian. She swung around, the ironing board once again slamming itself into Octavian's head. One last crack snapped into the wind, and Octavian fell off the bench with a clambering roar.

"OH!" Octavian exclaimed in surprise.

Reyna dropped the ironing board once more, and raced to his side. "Oh my gosh! Octavian, I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just did that to you again! Are you alright, are you okay?"

Octavian straightened his back, a hand placed on his head. "OW!"

"Are you hurt?" Reyna asked.

"OW!" Octavian yelled.

Reyna paused, and stared at Octavian, her mind racking to remember something they had just talked about. "Octavian... wait. What did you just say again?"

Octavian froze, then turned to Reyna. "Ow."

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><p><strong>Awwwwwww, that was just adorable wasn't it? Do you guys realize why he finally said OW, after getting hit with the ironing board? Take your guess in the review. Connor sounds like a complete asshole doesn't he? I wouldn't want to be in a relationship with someone like him. Do you guys start to see connections with a couple of the other chapters? One of Reyna's best friends is Katie, while Leo and Luke both work together acting as repairmen. More similarities will come together with the next couple of chapters. I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did. It just made my heart open three times larger. Chapter 5 will be out tomorrow, entitled Getting it Back. You'll see Chris and Clarisse taking the fumble this time. Please review! It'll really make my day. I love you all!<strong>

**~Paradigm **


	5. Chapter 5: Getting it Back

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter in Almost in Love, this chapter entitled Getting it Back. It's an interesting chapter, that is something I'll definitely say. This has some ideas of fantasy in this chapter I suppose I'd call it, because what are Chris and Clarisse, the main characters in this story referring to as the 'it', and what are they getting back necessarily? Well, you are all about to find out! Chris and Clarisse are indeed our two main characters I'm hinting at in this chapter, they'll now take the front screen!**

**The song for this chapter is called Take it Personal by Go Periscope. This song is freaking catchy I tell you, it really is. You'll be bouncing your head back in forth while listening to it, I promise you.**

***Note* All characters are 21 or older. Every character in the story knows one another unless stated otherwise. Romance is indeed a warning if you do not enjoy that (but, then why did you click on this story if I mentioned romance, hmm?). The setting is an AU, and each one-shot takes place somewhere around New York City. Enjoy!**

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><p>Clarisse La Rue was what her friends classified as the sassy, yet lovable bitch of the East and Hudson rivers. She got that name from being quite the talker, and for having the reputation to be a complete jerk when the time called for it. She was almost like a leader in the gang she hung out with, that group including Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Luke Castellan, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Katie Gardner, and Reyna Ergos. Almost like mother hen, when Clarisse was angry, you got out of the way... unless you wanted to face the consequences. You wouldn't normally see her get all lovey around people she didn't care about. Around Chris Rodriguez, her boyfriend of eleven years, however was a different Clarisse.<p>

They two of them had been together since they were sixteen, both of them now at the ripe age of 27. Chris Rodriguez fell in love with Clarisse the moment he laid eyes on her. Clarisse had just moved from a rural town in Georgia, a place that was not really known to anyone, but only to the people living there. She moved with her family because her father was militarily stationed for a brief while in D.C. The closest area they found to stay was in New York. Her father flew to and from work every morning. Her father got shipped out to combat out in Turkey. He died a month after being shipped off. Clarisse's mother died due to a heart attack after hearing the information. Clarisse was all alone in the world that is New York City, and she had only been in New York for four months... her life had already turned sour.

That is when she met Chris. She had been invited to a party the night she turned sixteen, and her friends took her to the most popular girl in school, Piper McLean at the time, and had the girl throw her the wildest party ever. At the party, while pouring some soda for her friends, she had knocked a bottle of Dr. Pepper all over a poor boy named Chris. The rest... well as people say, was history. After that fateful incident, the two of them grew a liking to one another- and then Chris popped the first of many questions. The 'will you go out with me' song and dance was the first of many to come out of his mouth. The best part was that each question got better than the last.

Clarisse said yes to all of them. But, now... she wanted a change. Time had come for a change at the age of 27, and it just wasn't happening. Clarisse had to move on, and that's what she planned on doing.

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><p>Clarisse was pissed, to put it in lighter sense. She was beyond pissed, beyond furious. Clarisse was about to erupt on one poor boy she knew the name of far more familiar than the other people in her life.<p>

Turning off the ignition of her 2009 Toyota, she slammed the door to her car and glared at the house in front of her. Taking an early leave off her shift at the real estate company she worked at, she marched up to her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez's house.

The house was hidden in a oak and beech tree forest, the trees now a bare white as snow blanketed beneath their trunks. A restless wind blew through the vicinity, causing Clarisse to hold her sides tighter. The moon shone like a ball of mozzarella cheese in the sky, the rays of moonlight illuminating the front door of Chris's house where Clarisse's fate stood in the balance. Swallowing her anger, she marched up to the front door and rammed on it as hard with her fist.

"Chris," She screamed at the top of her lungs. No response. She rapped the door harder. "CHRIS!"

A loud groan emitted from the house, and the sound of something falling over and breaking. Chris's voice poked out from all the pandemonium. "Hold on Clarisse, I'm coming!"

Clarisse huffed a breath of hot air and swiveled from the door on her heels. She walked down the steps, her back facing the house. "CHRIS, GET OUT HERE!" she shouted, a hot rage execrating out of her words.

Chris stifled another reply from inside. "Shut up Clarisse! I'm coming I said."

Clarisse spun around to face the door. "Chris!" she barked.

The door opened, and Chris Rodriguez; her boyfriend of 11 years poked his bearded face out of the door frame. "What?"

"Come here." Clarisse demanded.

Chris complied and opened the door. He was wearing a mahogany sweater, a olive green jacket slung over his shoulders. His thunderstorm eyes peeked behind a tan complexion, even though it was winter up in New York where the sun really never did his job. He wrung his hands back and forth, obviously knowing something was wrong. "What do you need Clarisse? I was just about to go to bed..."

"I want it back."

"What?"

"I want it back." Clarisse repeated, crossing her arms.

"What do you want back exactly?" Chris asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"All the love I gave to you." Clarisse said simply, as if that right there was enough to make sense out of anything.

"Repeat that again." Chris said, making a rewind motion with his hands.

"All the love I gave to you. I want it back." Clarisse answered.

"I... don't understand..."

"I got yours in the car."

"Mine? What's in the car?"

"All the love you gave to me. I'm returning it to you."

"Why?" Chris asked, inching closer to his girlfriend.

"Because I've made a decision. We're done." Clarisse said bluntly.

"_What_?" Chris cried in disbelief.

"I can get it, the love I mean. Or, _you _can get it." Clarisse offered, sarcasm dripping off of her words.

"Clarisse, what are you going on about-" Chris started.

"You're hopeless," Clarisse muttered, turning around to walk back to her car. "I mean, considering the circumstances... I just thought it'd be right."

"What circumstances?" Chris asked. His eyes widened when he saw Clarisse reappear from behind the trees, this time carrying two bags that were bright red in color. If he looked hard enough, he'd see the bags were beating faintly, like a heartbeat.

"Here you go." Clarisse said curtly, dropping the bags at his feet.

"Whoa... um... do you need any help, Clarisse?"

"No," Clarisse refused rudely. "It's not heavy." She vanished behind the trees, probably to get more bags of love.

"That's a lot," Chris observed. Clarisse reappeared with two more bags on her shoulders. "That's a whole lot of love..."

Clarisse plunked the bags of love down at her boyfriend's feet and stood up straight, her mouth in a grim line. "There you go. I need yours now please."

"I... I don't understand at all. What are you getting at Clarisse?"

Clarisse spun at her boyfriend, jabbing him in the chest with a finger accusingly. "Do you remember back in March, on the thirtieth I had asked you that _question_?"

Chris nodded, Clarisse was referring to when she asked him if he ever thought they'd get married. "Yeah? What about it?"

"Well, on that day, the sun was shining. The snow had finally melted. We were sitting at the Ginger Ale Company, enjoying a couple of rounds. I took your hand in mine, and I asked you the _question_. Your response really hurt me."

"My response? Clarisse, don't you remember what happened? I didn't say anything at all!" Chris defended himself.

"Exactly," Clarisse accentuated. "You had gotten quiet all of a sudden, and you never said anything the rest of the night. That right there told me you didn't love me. I thought it meant nothing. But, I've brought it back up to a few people and then everyone told me I should move on because of it."

"Everyone," Chris challenged. "Everyone who?"

"Reyna-" Clarisse started to list, when Chris cut in.

"Reyna! Oh gee, it's Reyna opinion on love! You think Reyna is some kind of love expert or something? She's locked in an abusive relationship and you know it!"

"Enough," Clarisse snapped. "So, I brought all of your love with me to give back to you- so cutting the tie wouldn't hurt as much. I want all of mine back. I'm going to be heading out tomorrow."

"Where you are heading out to?" Chris questioned.

"I don't know. I... I just need to get away from things."

"Things," Chris reiterated. "Seriously, Clarisse! What things in New York are here that you now need to get away from? There is nothing here to get away from!"

"Yes there are," Clarisse shot back. "You're one of the things to get away from."

Chris stepped a back, the words inflicting a wound on his heart. "Me?" he whispered, his voice wavering.

"Yes," Clarisse confirmed. "I need all of your love back in case I'm going to need it. I mean, I can't exactly go around with _your _love because it's all I have. I also really can't go around giving _your _love to other guys because-"

"Other guys," Chris growled fiercely. "There are other guys in this relationship Clarisse?"

"No, there isn't anyone else. At least not yet," Clarisse snapped. "But, I am assuming there will be," she said nonchalantly, turning back to Chris. "So, that's what I'm planning to do. I'm going to leave for awhile, and get my head cleared straight. First, however, I need the love I gave to you back. It's something for the road. I want my love back Chris. Can you please go get it," Clarisse asked sweetly. Chris didn't move. "Chris... go get it. Please?," she asked again. He didn't move. "NOW!" Clarisse barked.

Chris sighed and went back in the house, shutting the door. Clarisse stared down at her boots impatiently. She perked her head up when she saw Chris return, but instead of seeing mounts and mounts of red bags in her boyfriend's arm, she stared down at the epitome of small in Chris's hands. All he was holding was a small bag, probably no bigger than a person's palm. Chris placed the bag in Clarisse's hand. "Here you go." he said curtly.

Clarisse looked at the bag in her hands, and back at Chris. "What is that?"

"It's all the love you gave me." Chris explained.

Clarisse felt the very faint drumming against her hand, the pulse so weak that not even her pinkie twitched. She felt tears start to emerge from her eyes. "Is this really all the love I gave you?"

"It's all I could find."

"Oh... okay."

"Clarisse, please tell me why you're doing this. I need to know what's going on with you." Chris said.

"I told you! We're done!" Clarisse yelled at Chris.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Chris asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I said so! With everyone in the city telling me that you aren't ready for what comes next after people have been together for a long time, I think we have to call it quits." Clarisse rectified.

"Clarisse-"

"So, I've been trying to make you love me! I was wanting you to get a hint that our relationship was starting to crumble and fall apart. You didn't get the hint. I came to the conclusion that we needed to stop dating since we weren't getting anywhere with this. I thought it would've been right if I brought you all the love you gave to me back so I in return could have my share. We'd have new slates to start off with. I wanted to be able to call it even..." Clarisse rambled, then trailed off. She looked at the miniscule bag in her hand and then back at her boyfriend. "Oh Jeezum Crow Chris! Is this really all the love I gave to you? I mean... what kind of person am I if that's all I gave you in..." Clarisse stopped and then laughed nervously. "No, I know I gave you more love than this! I know I did," Clarisse's emotions switched to anger as another thought crossed her mind. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Chris accusingly. "Did... did you lose it?"

"What? Clarisse, no! Of course I didn't-" Chris objected.

"Chris! Did you lose all the love I gave to you? I think you're pulling something on me and right now is not the time to be pulling something on me!"

"Clarisse, I'm not pulling something on you, okay? I would never do that to you," Chris shot back. He sighed, and rubbed his face with his hands. "You know what? Just... please leave. You came for what you wanted. You now have it. I suggest you call it a night, and I'll see you tomorrow." he said, patting Clarisse on the back, and then turned around to go back inside to his house.

Clarisse parted her mouth, and thinking she had nothing to say, looked down at the pitiful bag clenched in her right hand. "Chris... Chris... just please tell me what is this? I mean, what the heck is this little bag? Just find the decency to tell me-" Clarisse said- then stopped as an object fell out of the bag from a result of her turning it upside down. A small black box laid at her feet. Clarisse picked it up and opened it, face to face with a diamond ring. "Chris... what is this?"

Chris, who never really went inside, turned around, one foot perched on the front step to his house. "It's a ring." he said, walking down to his girlfriend.

"It's a what?" Clarisse asked again, staring at the object dumbfounded.

"A ring Clarisse," Chris repeated. "It's a ring."

"Oh! It's a ring," Clarisse's face lit up as the word made sense in her brain. "Oh my gosh Chris! This is a ring! Isn't it an object to say to someone that's been with someone else for a long time that they're ready for what's next in a relationship for people that have been together for a long time?"

Chris nodded. "Yep."

Clarisse's eyes widened as another thought came to mind. "Oh! All the love I gave to you... where is it?"

"It's right there." Chris said, tilting his head at the ring.

"But-"

"It's right there. All of it is right there!" Chris insisted.

"It's very beautiful." Clarisse commented.

"It was time. It was right. It was honorable," Chris said, holding Clarisse's hand in his. "You gave me so much love over the years-"

"The _eleven _years." Clarisse corrected.

"The eleven years," Chris fixed himself. "Well- it's just... that's a lot. I put some in the garage, some upstairs, and some in the shed. I was running out of room in my house, but so much kept coming in. I asked Luke if he had any suggestions. He asked me if I bought you a ring yet. I said no. He then patted me on the back and proceeded to tell me that if there is that much love coming in, I have to put that much back out. Trust me, it's a lot bigger than it looks."

"Yeah, I guess so." Clarisse confirmed.

"You still want it all back?"

Clarisse nodded, tears brimming at her eyes. "Yes."

"Well, then take it." Chris said, grabbing the box. Taking the ring out, he placed it on Clarisse's hand.

Clarisse watched the ring slide over her finger, and she lowered it to her side. "Oh Chris, you didn't have to get me a ring. I'm sorry about all the trouble I caused you. I'm just saying... it was a Monday night... I was bored at work with nothing to do... and I felt unloved."

Chris placed a finger to her lips. "Shh," he whispered. Then he brought Clarisse into a kiss.

Clarisse broke from the kiss after a couple of moments, and allowed Chris to wrap his arms around her body in a hug. Still holding onto her boyfriend's body, she held out her hand with the ring and gazed at it. She smiled.

All was good with the world.

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><p><strong>All's well that ends well right? Wasn't that just the sweetest thing ever? A lot of these chapters are like that. Chris and Clarisse's relationship is probably the hardest to get down, since they're both completely different characters. Even though this one started out with drama, it ended well. I can't say the same thing for the characters in Chapter 7 and 8 which are soon to come.<strong>

**My gosh... I've just got to say... this story has just exploded. It has over 500 views in just the first couple of days. For me, that's quite the record! I thank you for that! It really makes me feel happy to know that people are really reading this story. I reopened/resurrected an old poll on my profile that questioned which three stories on my profile were your favorite, dedicated for my readers to give me feedback. I'd appreciate that alongside a review, that you stop by that poll and vote. Some of my stories, actually 12 of them need love- Almost in Love included. It'd truly make my day. **

**Well... I'll see you tomorrow with another update with Chapter 6- They Fell... In Love. I love you all!**

**~Paradigm **


	6. Chapter 6: They Fell In Love

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter in Almost in Love, #6: They Fell... In Love. This story is almost over! After this, only three more chapters left and I'll be done with this story- probably the quickest I've ever finished anything with multi chapter format. It's time for Yaoi, this time with the one and only Percy Jackson and Nico Di Angelo. I was going to have it be Nico and Will for this chapter, but they both like one another in canon as it is. The next chapter has Annabeth in it, and Percy would've been perfect for it... but then yet again, this story is all about the weird pairings. Annabeth Chase and Will Solace last time I checked is not popular... but maybe it can become popular.**

**The song for this chapter is New Reality by Analogue Revolution. The song is quite catchy and poppy, but it may be out of a person's comfort zone. I really hope you enjoy this chapter- for these things take me quite a couple of hours to type.**

***Note* All characters in this story are 21 or older. Each character knows one another unless stated otherwise. The setting is New York in an AU. Enjoy Chapter 6: They Fell... In Love.**

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><p>Nico Di Angelo and Percy Jackson were best friends, and they had been that way since they could remember. Nico was 22 and he was the most shy person you would ever meet. Percy was 24 and he was the most energetic person you would ever meet. Their personalities off set each other, especially when it came to dating. Every Monday night, Nico and Percy would meet at Nico's house and would sit in his garage to discuss their dates. Depending on who had the worse date between the two, that guy would be considered the winner. Being the winner meant you were the most pathetic human being on Earth that night. You also were able to pick then what Nico and Percy would do Friday night as buddies, before releasing them back into the world to try and fail at dating again.<p>

Nico was shy, terribly conservative when it came to asking girls out, and on the rare occasion that he managed to snag a girl... it always ended terribly. Percy was gutsy when it came to girls, but he was a horrible person to be around if things got personal. He has ruined thirty of the fifty two dates he had been on in the game with Nico. They had been playing this little charade for an entire year, and on Monday, November 17th, the rules of the game would be changed forever.

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><p>"I believe you! I'm just saying-" Nico started, but Percy cut him off with a swipe of his hand.<p>

"It was bad Nico. _Bad._" Percy laughed, patting his best friend on the back.

"I hear ya, but-" Nico tried to jut in.

"No, Nico. You're not listening! Nico, it was bad!" Percy interjected.

"No, _you_'_re_ not listening, because-" Nico began to make progress at explaining.

"Real bad man..." Percy whispered over him.

"Percy," Nico sighed in exasperation. "I'm just trying to tell you that I had a pretty shitty time myself!"

Percy scoffed. "Dude, there's no way."

Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "It was pretty darn bad Percy. I'm telling you man."

"Really?" Percy asked incredulously. Nico's dates always ended in disaster and each were always classified as 'bad', but for Nico to call it shit... well it meant somehow or another, something went down between him and his date.

"Yeah." Nico confessed.

Percy propped his leg against the other, leaning back in his chair. "Okay... go. Let's hear it."

Nico blushed, as if what he was about to say truly was the most embarrassing thing to happen to a man. He opened his mouth, and tried to formulate the words. "She... she told me she didn't like the way I smelled."

"_What_?" Percy burst out laughing, his guffaw rattling the beer bottles on the cabinet.

"Drew told me she didn't like the wall I smelled. Never has. Apparently I've had the odor of death on me since I was six when we first met." Nico explained.

"Drew Taylor," Percy repeated Nico's date's name, mystified. "Drew Taylor told you she didn't like the way you smelled?"

"Yep." Nico nodded, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans.

"When?"

"When I picked her up," Nico said. "She got in the truck, and I was about to back out of the driveway. All of sudden, she starts breathing in real hard, and I mean _breathing in_ when I say that. She asked me to stop the truck. I'm not even in the street at this point. She unbuckled her seatbelt, hopped out, and came over to the driver's side. I thought she was gonna say that she forgot her makeup bag, or her wallet... or whatever girls lose on a day-to-day basis. Then she dropped the bombshell on me and said she was sorry. She couldn't go out with me because she didn't like the way I smelled. She never had. Death reeked off of me she explained."

"She said what?" Percy asked, his face registering shock, amusement, and sympathy all in one.

"She told me that she thought she was going to be to overlook it, the way that I smelled and all, but that wasn't gonna be possible after all. She retracted herself from the car door, went to her house door, opened it and slammed it. Left me sitting right there in her driveway. I had no clue what to freaking think except that Drew Taylor is an asshole considering she _now _just told me that- instead of five years, or ten years ago when we weren't about to be going our date..." Nico added further, picking at a scab on his left hand.

"This all happened because she didn't like the way you smelled?" Percy reiterated.

"Yep..." Nico trailed off, looking back at the miscellaneous items that lined his garage.

"Well what kinda person is she to do that," Percy contemplated. He paused, looked at Nico with uncertainty. Then, he leaned over and smelled Nico's jacket. "I... I don't mind the way you smell Nico."

Nico grinned lightly, and punched Percy lightly in the shoulder. "Thanks man."

"Just... wow... that was cold." Percy commented, muttering down to his shoes.

"Told you it was bad, Percy." Nico agreed.

Percy giggled a little. "That's more than bad Nico. That's just sad all around, man."

"Yep. So you know what that means Percy. I'm the big winner tonight, huh? So... I get to pick what we're doing on Friday. I pick bowling, dinner at Travis's Club, some beers at the Ginger Ale Company, and... we just hang out like we normally do." Nico said, his grin widening a little larger than before.

Percy made the rewind motion with his hands. "Hold up. I didn't say you were the big winner."

Nico looked at Percy, the bravado in his facial expressions slowly receding away like water on the shoreline. "What?"

"Did I say you were the big winner?" Percy asked.

"No, but-" Nico started.

"No you didn't. I mean, all that's pretty sad Nico, and bad... but you didn't win." Percy said.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't win." Percy huffed.

"You cannot beat being told you smelled like death for the past eighteen years, Percy," Nico challenged. "No one can beat being told you smelled bad!"

"I can." Percy said, his face reflecting guises that he truly had a more embarrassing date than Nico.

"Well then, let's hear it. I'm eager to see you, Big Mr. Hotshots fail at something for once."

Percy stood up, and walked out into the chilly night sky. "Mine's face broke."

"_What_?" Nico laughed, a raucous roar emitting from the reserved boy.

"Her face broke." Percy repeated, nodding.

"Her what?" Nico asked, trying to hold his bemusement.

"You only get one change with a girl like Zoe Nightingale... and her face broke," Percy said. He looked back at Nico. "Told you it was bad."

"How did her face break, Percy?" Nico shouted, almost able to contain his excitement.

"When we were dancing..." Percy murmured.

"_Dancing_," Nico repeated, his voice rising in disbelief.

"Yup." Percy nodded,

"Dude... what were you, _Percy Jackson _of all people... dancing?" Nico asked, leaning forward.

"Cause that's what she wanted to do. Zoe wanted to go dancing, on our date. So I took her. Took her dancing down to the rec center. You pay about twenty bucks or something, then you get taught a lesson. After that, you get to dance all night. They teach 'together dancing', like how to dance together as partners. Well, we learned that thing on how to throw a girl up and over and well... Zoe... she's pretty small at 4'9, and I'm pretty strong for all that weightlifting I've done since I was 16. I threw her up and over. But the thing is, I threw her... _over_... and over. She landed on her face. It broke," Percy explained, going back to sit. "Had to take her to the emergency room from the rec center."

"That's a drive..." Nico said, giggling.

"Thirty-eight miles through Manhattan traffic." Percy complained.

"Yup." Nico nodded, knowing how long it really took to get help in New York City.

"She cried as well..." Percy added, crossing his arms in disgust.

"I hate when girls cry." Nico agreed.

"She cried the whole freaking way. When we got there, she told me to call her old boyfriend, Michael Lew to come and get her."

"Ooh..." Nico whispered, covering his mouth with his hands. Even he understood how awful that was.

"He came," Percy continued. "Asked me to please leave. I mean, the guy is as small as she is," he scoffed. Nico stifled a laugh. "What?"

"Percy... that's just bad."

"Yeah, I guess it is Nico."

"And sad. Can't forget that." Nico reminded him.

"Yup." Percy nodded.

"So... I guess you win actually! I didn't injure anyone on my date... except maybe Drew's nostrils." Nico said, slugging Percy in the shoulder.

"Just _great_." Percy marveled sarcastically.

"That right there might make you the biggest winner of all time!" Nico ridiculed.

"Yup!"

"Worst-date-guy of all time," Nico laughed. "It even rhymes!"

"Yup..." Percy said, looking away in shame.

"Congratulations man!"

"Thanks Nico."

"What are you picking for Friday?" Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. "I don't know. Bowling, dinner at Travis's Club, beers at the Ginger Ale Company, and just hang out like we normally do."

"Good." Nico commented, looking out at the stars in the sky. He scowled, and scoffed; thinking of all the dud dates he's been on just to try and win a game.

Percy eyed his friend. "What?"

Nico stood, and walked out to the same spot Percy was a few moments ago. "I don't know man. Just sometimes... I don't know why I bother going out anymore. I don't like it, Percy! I hate it, going out on these horrid dates. I hate going out with some girl I might _maybe _like when I could be using that time spending it with someone I _do _like and someone I _know _I like, like you y'know?" Nico explained.

"I'm following you." Percy said.

"I mean, Percy... that was rough tonight. In the middle of Drew telling me she didn't like the way I smelled... it got me real sad because I've never been rejected like that before. It... it really tore me up." Nico whined.

"Aw, buddy-" Percy tried consoling.

"All I could think about was how not much in this world makes me feel good or makes much sense anymore. I got real scared. I mean... there's gotta be something that makes you feel good or at least makes sense because what's the point, right? But, then I got out of being sad and actually felt okay. I managed to realize that there is one thing in this world that makes me feel good and _does_ make sense. I don't know how I didn't see it before," Nico talked, then sat down by Percy's side again, facing his best friend. "The thing that's made me feel good and the thing that makes sense is well... it's always been you."

... Silence. Percy locked eyes with Nico, fear paralyzed in his eyes. Nico froze, thoughts running through his mind a mile a minute. He pressed his face into his hands and groaned. Percy looked back out at the sky, then back at Nico, back at the sky, back at Nico. He did this for about a minute or so while Nico moaned from his hand sanctuary. His mouth was agape, and then he stood. "Um... well... I'm gonna head."

Nico lifted his head up, and saw that Percy was leaving. He shot to his feet. "Yeah..."

Percy turned around to Nico, trying to block out what his best friend just said to him. "I gotta work in the morning."

"Well, I'm supervising the first shift at the highschool art class project with Rachel, so I can pick you up anytime after three if you need me-" Nico said, Percy cutting him off.

"Oh... I don't know Nico. Chris and I have got to start helping Connor rebuild he and Reyna's house from the hurricane back in March. Then he and I are still catching up on the work we haven't gotten to, fixing roofs, windows and stuff-" Percy talked over him.

"Well how about four or five? Six or seven?" Nico asked, his voice getting louder than Percy's.

"Probably busy all day dude. Don't know when we'll be done."

"Well, just call me when you get a definitive answer-"

"I truly don't know Nico. I don't know."

"But-"

Percy put his hand out in a wave. "Look, dude. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He turned back to go and get in his Corolla.

Back in the garage, Nico bit his lip and stomped a booted foot on the snowy ground. Percy was about to leave, and his only chance at getting anywhere with him was about to be cut short.

"Yeah... yeah sure," Nico whispered to himself. Then, looking up at Percy as he was about to enter the driver's seat of his car, he shouted. "Percy!"

Percy got out of the car, an eyebrow raised in question. Nico crumpled to the ground, his knees buckled and his legs gave way. He toppled to the concrete floor of the garage. Percy slammed his car door. "Nico!" he cried, running towards his fallen best friend. He raced up to Nico, who was slightly twitching at the feet. He grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him up.

"Thanks man." Nico breathed heavily.

"Dude, you okay?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. I think I am." Nico said.

"What was that? What just happened there?" Percy questioned, his brow creasing in worry.

"Umm... I just fell." Nico explained.

Percy rolled his eyes. "_No duh,_" he thought. Then, to Nico, "I figured that out."

Nico shook his head in assent. "No Percy. It's not that I _just _fell. I think... I think I fell in love with you there Percy." Nico's legs gave way, and he collapsed again.

"Nico!" Percy yelled out in anguish.

"Yep," Nico nodded, getting back up and dusting himself off. "That's what that was Percy. It's me falling in love with you." Nico locked eyes with Percy and crumbled to the floor again.

Percy blinked, his face changed into anger. "Nico, what are you doing? Come on man, get up!" he grabbed Nico's hand in rage, and launched the boy up to his feet.

"No-no-no Percy-" Nico started, before collapsing back to the concrete floor once more.

"Would you cut that out?" Percy growled fiercely.

"I can't help it," Nico cried out, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's just kinda come over me! I've fallen in love with you here."

Percy took a step back, letting the information cycle through his brain. "Nico... I'm your best buddy in the entire world. I may not quite know what you're doing, or even what you're going on about... but, what the heck is your problem?! What the heck are you doing here Nico!? Jeezum Crow, you're my best friend-"

"I know I am Percy," Nico interjected, managing to get his shaky body to his feet. "But-"

Percy wasn't finished. "And that's... that's a thing you don't mess with. And, you just messed with it! You don't _do _that," Percy raged, swiveling on his heel, storming back outside. He turned back to Nico, who stood in complete silence. "You want to know something Nico? _You _are the only person I know in my world that is the only thing that makes me feel good, and the one thing that makes sense to me too, and then you go and foul it up by doing _this, _and telling me _that..._ And, now it doesn't make any sense at all! It doesn't feel good at all. I mean, Nico; you've done a real number on a good thing here buddy, cause we're friends. There's a line formed between friendships, and you aren't supposed to cross it. But, then you went and crossed it!"

Percy stopped screaming at Nico and turned to go. Nico stood in his garage helpless, watching his best friend in the world walk out of his life. Percy, who had only made a few steps from the position he was in a few seconds ago, yelling at Nico, stopped. He turned back to face Nico. Nico looked at Percy, and saw the desperation in his eyes. Before either one of them could utter a word, both men fell towards each other. Nico slammed into the concrete of his garage, Percy onto his driveway. Both of them locked eyes, Nico's face turning into a bleak smile. Both men tried to get up, only to fall down once more; only this time a little closer than before. They continued doing that till they were close to one another by just a few inches. Both of them could feel the other's breath hitting their faces.

Before Nico could say a word, Percy grabbed him by the face and landed a fiery kiss on his mouth. Nico, making sure Percy was fully in the garage, with his foot, kicked the garage door closed, shutting the outside world from looking in.

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><p><strong>That kiss wasn't in there originally, but it truly wouldn't be a romance story without it. PercyxNico is one of my favorite pairings, and I hope you think I did this pairing some justice! I'm officially on my nine day Thanksgiving break, so I'll be updating like crazy, that's no lie! Please review, I'd really love if you could- especially considering it's PercyxNico! The last chapter, as I'm writing this, has yet to have a review and I'd love if it could have one by the time I'm finished writing the story. I'll be back tomorrow, on the 22nd, with Chapter 7- Where Their Relationship Went- the stars being Annabeth and Will. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, and I'll see you soon! Love you all!<strong>

**~Paradigm **


	7. Chapter 7: Where Their Relationship Went

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter in Almost in Love! Today, I'm hoping to post two chapters at once, and try to reach my goal of 1000 views by the time Chapter 9 is posted which is hopefully tomorrow. You are about to read Chapter 7- Where Their Relationship Went, staring Annabeth Chase and Will Solace. I wanted to flip Will's role with Percy's and have Solango or whatever that name is called and Percabeth, but since this story is about some usual and some unusual pairings, the latter part of the story, Chapters 7-9, are meant to be the odd ones. But, you can't forget LeoxPiper, or LeoxKatie- for those are odd as well. I hope on hitting 25,000 words with this story- which would be pretty awesome.**

**The song for this chapter is Heart of Stone by Iko- a beautiful song from Twilight- Breaking Dawn Part II Soundtrack. The song is my favorite out of the ones I've picked. The words are just so ethereal, and whole... it's a feeling like no other. I truly hope you listen to this song.**

***Note* All characters in this story are 21 or older. Every character knows one another in some way shape or form unless stated otherwise. The setting is somewhere in New York City, and it's an AU. I want you all to notice, each one-shot or chapter is all happening at the same time. So while Nico and Percy fell in love last chapter, at the same time- something is happening between Annabeth and Will at this chapter. That is why everything is so connected. Annabeth has a nickname in this chapter; which will be Anne. Not Wise Girl this time around. Enjoy chapter seven- Where Their Relationship Went!**

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><p>Will Solace and Annabeth Chase married on November 17th, 2009. If you had told any of their friends back in ninth grade or back that they'd get married, that person would've scoffed at you like no tomorrow and then proceed to call you an idiot because Will and Annabeth's relationship was far from healthy. Will Solace and Annabeth Chase hated each other in elementary and middle school, both of them tried to contest for a good friend of theirs, Percy Jackson's, heart. Soon, after finding out their mutual attraction was truly with each other and not Percy Jackson, they fell in love at homecoming their ninth grade year. All of the bitter hate that had collected over the years washed off with one simple kiss in the day glow lights that shone on the dance floor. Will had been picked for homecoming court alongside Annabeth. The freshman at their highschool thought it would've been the most funny thing to have them both become the Dutch and Duchess- since the people paired together had to always kiss at the end of their dance and try to make it as romantic as can be.<p>

No one expected their kiss to cause the entire event to roar up in pandemonium. The next day, after the party was all settled... Will Solace and Annabeth Chase were officially dating. Private life for both of them became non-existent- all the details of their relationship were to be broadcast to the entire city of New York. The only place where they could find sanctuary was at Thalia Grace and Pollux Match's houses the two of them were the other couple everyone raved about. Hiding together proved to much for the school to bear, and no lie; one day half of the school's population fainted in the lunch room when Pollux and Will both kissed their girlfriends to ask them to prom in the eleventh grade.

Thalia and Pollux were seniors. Thalia moved out to go to college in South Carolina for her parents, and Pollux stayed behind. Will and Annabeth both went to Boston for college- and they stayed together all their lives. After Will and Annabeth graduated in 2007, at the age of 22- they married at the age of 24. When they moved back to New York City in 2010, they found out that nothing really changed. Thalia hadn't returned from college since 2006 when she finished school, Pollux still lived in the house he lived in when he was in highschool. Nico and Percy continued to play the dating game and see who sucked the worst. Piper and Leo were still intertwined, Will's brother Octavian still scared the shit out of people while they did their laundry- and Chris still was dating Clarisse. Nothing had changed, everyone and everything was still the same.

But... something had happened to Will and Annabeth. Something drastic, but no one could tell what. Their friends- Hazel, Frank, Luke, Leo, Piper, Katie, Reyna, Octavian, Connor, Chris, Clarisse, Nico, and Percy... they all just wondered. Where did their relationship go? They were all soon about to find out where their relationship went. It wasn't going to be pretty.

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><p>Will looked at Annabeth, she was bent over undoing the figure skate attached to her right foot. They had just gone to Emerald Pond which was about three and a half miles from New York City to go ice skating. The entire night went by, and between Will and Annabeth... little conversation happened. Will sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "It still feels like you're mad."<p>

Annabeth looked up from her skate and glared at her husband. "I'm not mad Will. I just said I wish you'd pay more attention lately."

Will leaned back against the bench they were sitting on in front of the pond. "But you were, you _are_. You're mad!"

"I'm not mad Will! I was having fun... I thought. I had fun tonight. Did you?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Annabeth said dismissively.

Will sat up, trying to continue his defense. "I mean, Travis called me in to work at the restaurant. I had to work Anne."

"I'm not mad at you Will. You had to work, I get it." Annabeth snapped. She looked under the bench, oblivious to Will's scowl.

"I did!" Will shouted, trying to defend himself.

"Will," Annabeth asked, looking back up at her husband. "Where's my shoe?"

"What?" Will asked, the question had come out of right field.

"Where's my shoe," Annabeth repeated. "I can't find it."

"Well... it's gotta be here."

"Where is it," Annabeth huffed. She locked eyes with Will, her own turning to slits. "Is this you being funny, Will?"

"No!"

"Cause it's not funny!"

"I-"

"It's cold out here." Annabeth whined, hugging her arms tightly.

"Well, who's idea was it go to skating in November, huh Anne?" Will said, his voice being rhetorical.

"Will!" Annabeth gasped, her feeling hurt.

Will stood in anger. "We'll find it! It's gotta be here!" He walked around the bench, and scanned out over the pond.

Annabeth bent back over to her feet, and grabbed the skate she had just taken off. "I'm not mad. I was never mad," she tried explaining. She laced her skate, it was too cold for stocking feet. "I was disappointed... but now... I'm done."

Will turned around to his wife. "Anne-" He sat next to her.

"I had fun tonight! Skating! I thought it would be fun for a change!"

Will groaned. "It _was_."

"I mean... we could've forgotten about all the stuff. Get us away from the kids, get us back to where we used to be. Where _our relationship _used to be. We went skating... the first date we went on. You kissed me in the middle of the pond, on a Monday night just like this one. Remember, Will? Right here," She reached over to rub her husband's back. "Emerald Pond-"

Will shrugged off the comfort. "I know where we are," He stood back up again, this time with a little frustration in his steps. "Where the heck is your shoe? Maybe... maybe it's in the car," He gazed back at Annabeth, who was sitting on the bench, miffed that he just shrugged her off. "Did you- um, Annabeth, where did you put your skates on? Out here or in the car?" Will asked, turning to go see whether it was in their SUV.

Annabeth sighed, and brushed a stand of her sunlight hair out of her face. "I put them on with you. Right here." She looked up at the sky, hoping it'd find answers for her instead.

Will returned from the SUV, empty handed. "Well, it's not in the car..." He sat down.

Annabeth had been watching the sky, and her eyes lit up as a streaking ray of white flew by the sky. It was a shooting star. "Oh-oh-oh! Shooting star, shooting star!" She closed her eyes and started wishing.

Will blinked. "What? Where? Where is it?"

"Shut up Will, I'm wishing." Annabeth hushed him.

Will continued to scan the sky. All he was met with was a black void; a starless night frowned back at him. He sunk back into the bench. "I missed it..."

Annabeth opened her eyes, she was finished wishing. She gazed at her husband with contempt. "Yeah, you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Will asked, anger seeping through his words.

"Nothing," Annabeth said nonchalantly. "It's just not really all that surprising..."

"What?"

"It's just not surprising that you missed the shooting star. That you didn't see it." Annabeth insulted.

"Why is that just _so _surprising?" Will asked with sarcasm.

"You don't pay attention Will." Annabeth trailed off.

"See, when you say things like that, I feel like you're still mad."

"I'm not."

"Anne-"

"I wasn't mad," Annabeth repeated. She stood up in fury. "WHERE is my _shoe_? Gosh, maybe it _is _in the car. I mean... I have one shoe on already. I know I didn't put my skates on in the car, cause the shoe I have on was out here. I changed out here didn't I? With you Will," she asked. Will didn't answer, he was gazing up at the sky, looking up, trying to find a star. Annabeth huffed and continued. "Will? I put on my shoes right next to yours, after we put our skates on. But... they aren't there. This is the weirdest thing," She sat down next to her husband. "It's not in the car, is it? I mean, I'm not gonna put one skate on in the car, and the other one on out here-" Annabeth said, then stopped; noticing Will's inattentiveness, and took in the somber expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

Will blinked, and turned to his wife. "Huh? Oh... it's nothing. I'm just making a wish of my own. On a regular one." he explained, covering.

"Oh."

"Want to wish on it with me?" Will asked, nudging Annabeth playfully.

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice. Which one?"

Will shifted his body back out to the sky. "Umm... see the Chrysler building," he asked, pointing. Even from the pond, the Chrysler building could still be seen in one of the most 'rural' points of New York.

"Yeah..."

"Well, look straight up. It's right above it."

Annabeth leaned in to Will, pointing with her index finger "The bright one?"

"Yeah."

"That one?"

"Yeah."

"Right there?"

"Yeah."

"Will?" Annabeth said softly, holding her husband's hand.

Will locked eyes with Annabeth. "Yeah?"

"Honey... that's a planet." Annabeth informed him.

Silence stilled over the two of them momentarily. Will looked back up at the night sky. "What?"

"That's a planet, Will. You're wishing on a planet." Annabeth reiterated.

"That's a-"

"Yeah."

Will huffed, and placed a hand at his side. "Well, how do you know?"

"Also, it's when you wish upon a _star. _Not when you wish upon a _planet, _or _Saturn_ for that matter." Annabeth said, singing the familiar tune of 'Wish Upon a Star', adding some own elements to it.

Will groaned. "Anne, I know that! How do you know that's not a star?"

"Said it on the weather Will. Saturn is the brightest object in the sky this month for New York City, and it'll be sitting over the Chrysler building over the next couple of weeks, starting from today. They've been saying it on the weather _all _week for that matter Will. You know your wish will never come true if you're wishing on a planet..." Annabeth explained.

"Well-" Will started to defend himself.

"You gotta pay more attention." Annabeth sighed.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Keep saying what?"

"That I gotta pay attention." Will said.

"Because you don't"

"What are you talking about, Annabeth?" Will moaned, sinking his face into his hands, kicking up some snow into the air.

Annabeth breathed, trying to calm herself as well as she could. She looked at her husband, the sympathy replaced by forbidden fury. "Will... happy anniversary."

Will felt his heart pang, and glanced up at Annabeth. "What?"

Annabeth's heart snapped in two. "Will... happy anniversary. That's what I'm talking about."

Will blinked, and remembered. Today was November 17th, 2014. It was his and Anne's fifth year anniversary of their marriage... and he forgot it. "I'm," he opened his mouth, trying to think of something consoling to say. He huffed. "I knew you were mad!"

"I'm not mad Will!"

"You're mad at me, and pretty soon, outta nowhere, it's gonna get ugly!" Will shouted.

"Will, I'm not mad. I'm just-"

"I mean, Annabeth... I'm sorry," Will breathed heavily, trying to explain himself to his wife. "I know I missed some things, but I gotta work! I gotta take a double when Travis needs me at the restaurant. He's helping me, _us_, out you know. He's helping us by offering me the overtime."

"I know, I know-" Annabeth started.

"No, you _don't _know," Will hissed, overriding his wife. "Me working is for _us, _and Grover, and sometimes for my brother, Octavian. It's a lot sometimes and it messes me up!"

Annabeth rubbed her face with her hands, her eyes seething. "Will, I'm not mad about you working. You gotta work, I get that loud and clear. What I don't get loud and clear is why I'm _lonely _Will. I've got a husband, and a great kid to take care of... and I'm lonely. You just don't pay attention anymore. You go away. I don't know where you go, but you go some place where it causes you to not pay attention. You forgot about Grover's hockey game, Octavian; your brother's own birthday-"

"Hockey equipment costs money." Will cut in, trying to deject Annabeth's harmful reasoning.

"You even forget your own f****** _anniversary_! I mean, I brought you here hoping you'd remember about us, but you didn't. That just makes me so mad. I don't know what to do anymore." Annabeth yelled at him.

Will cussed under his bated breath and looked at his wife in rage. "You _lie_."

"What?" Annabeth asked, horrified.

"You lie so bad." Will said, laughing manically.

"What?"

Will roughly poked Annabeth in the chest. "You're mad at me. But, you don't even _tell _me! Even when I ask you over, and over, and _over-_"

Annabeth's nose flared. "No, it's not that at all! It's because _you _wouldn't even pay attention if I _did _tell you-"

Will screamed at the top of his lungs, and punched the left side of the bench. He whirled his face at Annabeth, his eyes a cascading red. "No! No! No! It's because _you _don't know how to tell me what you feel about me. I never know where I am, where I stand between us anymore. Maybe that's why I go away! So I can know where I am for a second! But, you want to know something? It's lonely there too, where I go. You sent me there! You went away a _long _time before I did. Now, all you do is lie."

"I don't lie-"

"YES YOU DO," Will hissed furiously. "You say you're not mad, but you truly are! You say you have fun, but you didn't! You didn't have fun tonight did you?"

"No..." Annabeth whispered.

Will lightened up just a little, finally happy to know that she was coming to her damn senses. "But, you kept saying you did."

"I didn't," Annabeth confessed, standing up. Will stood up with her. "I didn't have fun with you Will. I never have fun with you anymore. Did you have fun tonight?"

Will laughed mockingly. "No. I had a rotten lousy time."

Annabeth shrugged. "Well then... what are we doing? We are waiting for?"

Will locked eyes with Annabeth, neither of them said a word. Suddenly, an object fell out of the sky between them. They both looked at the object, Annabeth's mouth opened slightly. It was a shoe, Annabeth's own missing shoe actually. Will looked back at her, Annabeth doing likewise, looking back at him. Will moved first, and picked up the shoe. Annabeth snatched it from his hands with a little bit of roughness. She slipped it on, grabbed the keys from Will's hands and marched off.

Will watched her go, and heard the sound of a car's ignition. He looked back up at the sky. Sighing, he walked around the bench, so he was facing the back of it- and his back facing Emerald Pond. Closing his eyes, he fell back against the ice and waited. He waited for the crack.

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><p><strong>... Well, this chapter didn't end so sweet now did it. So, where do you think Will and Annabeth's relationship truly went? Why do you think this whole argument happened? Also, what did Will just do, or try to do right here at the end? Give your comments in a review, please! It'd really mean a lot. Do you guys understand the ending? It's a take on the phrase, 'When the shoe drops'. It means, to normally end arguments, it's like the final word.<strong>

**I can tell you now, the next chapter will also not be as pleasant or uplifting as the others have been. But, then for chapter nine; a complete reversal will happen! I hope to post chapter eight later today, at around seven or so. That chapter is entitled Story of Grace with Thalia, Pollux, and Bianca. It shall be interesting! I will see you soon, and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! I love you all!**

**~Paradigm **


	8. Chapter 8: Story of Grace

**Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with Chapter 8 in Almost in Love- Story of Grace. This chapter is probably my favorite, and you'll see why. As I was planning it, I needed to have a great play on words- and the name of Grace is perfect because the main character is Thalia. Her last name is Grace, and you'll see how it all works out in the end of this chapter. It might be shorter than the ones that have come before it- the length may be in the 2000's range instead of 3000's. I've already referenced Thalia and Pollux in Chapter 7, if you want a refresher on that and some of their back story. As usual, this chapter starts out with backstory... and some of it has to be rehashed on both sides- Thalia's and Pollux's. Bianca is also a character... so where does she fit in?**

**The song for this chapter is Stay by Miley Cyrus. This song is a reflection of what Thalia wants Pollux to do in her heart. Miley wrote this song back in her Disney days, when she wasn't influenced by Wrecking Ball if that makes sense... so it's not a video that'll blind your innocent eyes.**

***Note* All characters are 21 or older. All the characters know one another unless stated otherwise. The setting is in or around New York City and the story is set as an AU. Please enjoy Chapter 8- Story of Grace!**

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><p>Thalia Grace was born in New York City on July 15th, 1982 alongside her twin brother Jason. Pollux Match was born in New York City on July 15th, 1982. Thalia had moved out to Ohio when she was ten in 1992 with her mother to escape her abusive father. Jason had opted to stay behind and make sure their father wouldn't turn into some crazy crime lord. Pollux stayed in New York, and didn't move even when the rest of his family did. Thalia moved back to New York when she was 14, her father had died of a heart attack. Jason, while he was still living in New York; met Pollux at a middle school pep rally and the two of them became great friends. When Thalia returned home, Jason introduced Pollux to her at dinner that night- November 17th, 1996. The two of them connected like a magnet to a refrigerator, and in just five short weeks of Thalia's return home, the two of them became an official couple.<p>

Alongside Will Solace and Annabeth Chase, the other couple that had taken New York by storm, Thalia and Pollux enjoyed their lives. Come senior year, Thalia announced that she would be going to college in South Carolina to study in the field of medicine. The South Carolina universities were the only places on the East Coast that accepted her, and she didn't want to travel out west at all. She and Pollux were met with a dilemma. Pollux did not want to leave New York, for he had made commitments to stay. Thalia wanted to get out into the open world. Pollux agreed to let her leave, and Thalia promised she'd return in the year of 2005 when she had gotten her degree.

The night before she left, Pollux reluctantly used a last resort to try and keep Thalia to stay in New York. He asked her to marry him... which Thalia prompted to not answer. The next morning, June 21st, 2001, Thalia left. Pollux waited like a good boyfriend would, and waited. He waited, and waited, and waited, and _waited _for his girl to return. She... she never did. Everyone they knew, Luke, Chris and Clarisse, Reyna, Will and Annabeth, they all told him she'd be back. She'd return.

Come July 15th, 2014, Pollux's 32nd birthday... Thalia still hadn't returned. She would have been 32 as well, considering the two of them were born on the same day. Pollux began to change after his birthday passed. He got thinner, he shrunk from his height of 5'11 to 5'6. He started growing facial hair, which was a phenomenon he had not been able to do since he hit puberty. If you were to ask Will Solace about Pollux's sudden change, he'd have told you that Pollux had lost his grace, he literally had lost Thalia Grace in his life. The gracefulness that he had always held onto was fleeing from his grasp.

In South Carolina, Thalia got distracted. After the got her degree in 2005 like she promised, she was ready to return home. On the night before she was about to leave, a man had offered to take her out for drinks. She had accepted, since she was never returning to South Carolina when she got back to New York. It would've been nice to have a happy memory to take with her, since she would never come back. At the bar where Thalia and her date were having drinks, the two of them had gotten heavily intoxicated and the rest as people say, is history. She happily fell in love with her new date on her birthday, the 17th of November- 2005. In 2006, she married Castor Mint, and she settled down in South Carolina.

She had forgotten all about Pollux. On November 16th, 2014, it all came flooding back to Thalia. She had never come home like she planned to. In an instant, she had bought a plane ticket for New York City and flew out of Colombia that morning, promptly at noon. She arrived in New York City at around seven P.M. She knew what she had to do. She had to visit Pollux, come back to the person she promised she'd see again. The same boyfriend she hadn't seen in 13 years. She didn't know if Pollux was even still living in New York, nor if he'd take her back. What Thalia Grace was soon about to find out would blow her mind.

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><p>Thalia watched the taxi cab drive off into the darkness, the illuminating cherry glow of the tail lights vanishing behind a void of black. She bit her lip and looked down at her suitcase, the only bag besides her purse that she brought with her. In her pocket, her phone rang, obviously it was Castor calling her; wondering where the hell was his wife, and why did she leave in a rut. Thalia turned around from the direction where the taxi had driven off and stared at Pollux Match's old house, where he lived before she left.<p>

Thalia inched forward, her heels making a clambering sound against the cobblestone driveway and pebbled sidewalk. The lights were still on in the house, indicating whoever lived there, whether it be Pollux or a complete random stranger, was still up. Thalia let go of her suitcase and inched to the front door. She knocked once, and then again, her knuckle barely even glancing off the wooden door.

A male's voice responded back, to Thalia's relief. "Just a minute!"

Thalia spun on her heels, and wrung her hands. She heard the door open and close, but she couldn't look back around; it was unbearable. Before she knew it, she was ranting. "I know this isn't going to be very easy, but I was just out there in the world with a person I know I didn't care about, and I got so scared. I got scared because all I could think about was how I had no place in this world, but then I just outta nowhere realized that there was one place in this world that I did have, and that was with you! I managed to get a flight all the way from South Carolina, arrived here in a taxi to get to you... I just had to come see you," Thalia rambled, spinning around. "Thank God you're still-" Thalia stopped, as she finally got a real look at the man who spoke to her. She didn't recognize him. Instead of Pollux Match, she was face to face with a stranger with glasses, a beard, who was thin, and who was small. "Oh wait... I'm sorry. You're not- I'm... I'm so sorry. This is the house... Does Pollux Match live here? I'm looking for Pollux Match."

The man frowned, as if he recognized the woman standing in front of him, but couldn't seem to figure out why. "You're looking for-"

Thalia jumped over the man. "Looking for Pollux Match, yeah. He _lives _here, I thought at least. But... ooooh... he doesn't, does he? I'm so sorry," she apologized, shaking her head. "I'm so embarrassed. You're probably thinking 'Who is this woman, and what is she doing here', aren't you? I just honestly thought he'd be here. I always thought he'd be here. Always," she whispered. She looked at the man. "Do you know him? Pollux Match is his name. Big guy, big, tall guy. Played basketball, all-Eastern New York, center. _Strong_. Do you know him? He played hockey too."

The man rubbed the back of his neck. "Well-"

"Oh don't even answer that," Thalia cut in. "That was- I know that's a horrible question to ask a person who lives in New York City. It's making me seem as if I believe people know everyone everywhere, like in large cities and stuff. Ugh, I can't believe I asked that! I don't live here anymore, but when I did, I hated it when people assumed I knew everybody in the city, just because I lived in a city. Cause, truthfully, people in large cities actually might now know everyone else in the city just because you live there, if you get where I'm coming from. I mean... you know who you know, and you don't know who you don't know," she said. She tousled her midnight hair, ruffling the ponytail dangling from her head. "I'm so sorry to have bothered you. I was just so sure that'd he'd be here. When his parents passed away, his siblings moved out, I was told he kept the house. It was what I heard anyways. He lived here. He stayed here, I thought. He was one of the ones who stayed. I didn't stay. I went away."

The man nodded in agreement. "Most... most people do."

Thalia smiled faintly, because another human being finally understood where she was coming from. "Yeah. I guess he finally did it too. I never thought he would. I guess I lost track. You really gotta hold onto people or you lose 'em. Wish there was something you could keep them in for when you needed to see them," she commented. A bitter breeze wafted through the vicinity, and Thalia hugged her sides. "Boy, it's cold. I forgot."

The man laughed heartily, the sound resonating something in Thalia's heart. "Yeah, it sure is."

Thalia turned around from the stranger. "I can't believe it. I took a taxi here from the city. I took a taxi to see him."

The man whistled. "That's far."

"Yeah."

"The city is about twenty five miles from here."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed. "This place is a little father away from things than I remember."

"Why did you do that?" the man asked.

"Because I could only fly as close as New York City, and I needed to get to him as fast as I could." Thalia answered.

The man frowned. "Why?"

"Because, I needed to return. I also wanted to answer a question he asked me."

"Oh?"

Thalia wrung her hands, and faced the stranger. "The last time I saw him, he asked me a very important question, and I didn't answer it. That's just not a very nice thing to do a person. I haven't seen him since he asked it."

"Aren't you being a little hard on yourself, don't you think?" the man questioned.

Thalia looked down at her shoes and mumbled. "He asked me to marry him..."

"Oh..." the man commented sadly. He looked at Thalia in the eyes. "And you..."

"Didn't answer him, no," Thalia finished. The man whistled once more, averting his gaze. "Yeah. And that's why I'm here. To answer him. I mean, I didn't answer him in the first place because I didn't _have _an answer at the time. I was about to go off to _college _in South Carolina, and then... the night before I'm about to go off into the world to do what I hoped and dreamed, he asks me, 'Will you marry me?'. I mean, come on! I was leaving in the morning... what I was supposed to even say?"

"I don't know." the man confessed.

"I mean, I _told _him I'd have to think about it. I'd think it overnight and that I'd be back here at his house before the sun came up on his birthday with an answer. I left however, and then left him standing right were you are standing right now, actually. I didn't make it back with an answer before the sun came up or... at all." Thalia explained.

"That sounds like an answer to me." the man said.

Thalia's eyes widened. "NO! That wasn't my answer! I just... went off into the world, and that's not an answer. I think-" she started, then stopped.

"You thought what?" the man asked.

"I think he thought I'd say yes." Thalia whispered.

The man scoffed, leaning against the front side of his house. "Well... a guy is probably not gonna ask a girl that question unless he thinks she'll say yes back to him, you do realize."

Thalia rubbed her forehead. "I know... and I'm afraid he probably waited up all night, hoping I'd eventually come crawling by. Now, I just want to tell him that I know now that you can't just do a think like not answer a question like the one he asked me. You... you can't do that to a person. Especially someone you love."

The man was taken slightly aback by this. "You loved him?"

Thalia turned around, her back to the man. "Well... I don't know if I... we were just kids," she said. Then she changed her mind, turning back to the stranger, a gleam in her eyes. "Yes, I did. I _do_! I do love him. And... not answering that question of his... well, I feel like I dashed his hopes and dreams..."

The man walked towards Thalia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh come on. You give yourself too much credit. He was young. That's all you need to get your hopes dashed: be young. Everybody starts out young at some point, so everybody gets their hopes dashed... and besides I don't think you really _dashed _his hopes at all. Cause, if you _dash _somebody's hopes... well that's kind of a nice way to let him down. It hurts, but hell, it's quick. If you had said no instead, that would've been dashing his hopes and dreams. But... you didn't say no. You said nothing. You didn't say anything for a matter of fact. At all. And that's... that's killing hope the long, slow, painful way; cause, it's still there just hanging on. It never goes away. And that's... that's kinda like giving somebody a little less air to breath every day. They lose a little bit of air each day, every day, till they die."

Thalia looked at the stranger, her face in confusion. "Yeah... Um... thank you?"

"For what?"

Thalia shrugged. "I don't even know." She turned back to her suitcase.

The man waved, and turned around. "Bye Thalia Grace."

"Goodbye," Thalia called. She stopped and turned around to face the man. "Look... I'm so sorry to have bothered you. It's just... I was out there in the world and I realized what I'd done to him, to Pollux, and that with him, well that was my place in this world," Thalia explained. She grabbed the handle to her suitcase and started walking off. Then, something in her mind clicked. She froze, and turned back to face the man she had just been conversing with. He had never gone back inside, he was still stuck in his same old spot. "Wait. You just called me Thalia. Thalia Grace. How do you know my name? I never told you it."

The man sighed, and reached for his glasses. He took them off. "It's because-"

Thalia beat him to the chase. Her eyes widened. In front of her was Pollux Match, her ex-boyfriend. "_Pollux_?"

Pollux waved half-heartedly. "Hello Thalia. Fancy seeing you here."

Thalia ran up to him happily. "Pollux! I didn't even-"

"I know."

"I didn't recon-"

"_I _know."

"I didn't even recognize you!" Thalia apologized.

"I know you didn't..."

Thalia looked over him. "You're so..."

"I know." Pollux huffed.

"Small," Thalia finished. "Thin, and short. You have glasses... and a beard."

"Yeah," Pollux blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I uh, lost a lot of hope... and a lost of my grace. That'll do a number on you," he said.

"Pollux, I'm so sorry I never-" Thalia started.

Pollux placed a finger on her lips. "Shh... it's okay. Cause, you want to know something? You're early!"

"What?" Thalia asked in confusion.

Pollux held his hand out to show her the sky. "You're early! You said you'd be back with an answer to my question before the sun came up on my birthday. Jeezum Crow, my birthday is not even till tomorrow, _and _the sun only went down a few hours ago at most. Look how early you are! That's good of you," he commended, reminding her the circumstances of their meeting. "So... a taxi all the way from New York City to see me?"

Thalia nodded. "Yep."

"To tell me..." Pollux began to question.

Thalia opened her mouth to say yes, when a voice came from inside the house, and a head peered behind the door. "Pollux? Honey, who is it?"

Pollux blinked, and opened the door. "Oh! Um, Thalia, I'd like you to meet my wife, Bianca Di Angelo. She's Nico's older sister," Pollux introduced her to Thalia, who looked at the couple with a numb expression, tears starting to form at her eyes. Pollux answered Bianca's question. "It's Thalia Grace, from high school. She just needed some directions."

"It's awful late for directions..." Bianca chided.

"I'll be in a minute. Give me one please." Pollux whispered.

"Okay." Bianca said, closing the door behind her.

Pollux turned to Thalia, who had tears streaming down her face. "I-"

"_What," _Thalia rasped. "Tell me _what_ Pollux?"

"I... I hope you find your place in this world, Thalia. I hope your husband you have helps you find it. God knows, I didn't do a good enough job. Goodbye." Pollux reprimanded, then entered his house, slamming the door shut.

Thalia blinked, salty tears combing the sides of her neck. She turned around slowly, and walked back to her suitcase. She gave one last solemn look at Pollux's house. "Goodbye Pollux," she whispered, and grabbed her luggage. She sighed, and began to walk. She stopped and looked back. "Yes," she answered, finally answering Pollux's doomed question. "Yes."

With that, Thalia Grace made one last trip into the night, Pollux watching her from above. As he watched her go, he reminisced about what her lips felt against his. He shook his head in resentment. It was Thalia's fault that she never could have it again.

It was all her fault.

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><p><strong>*Sigh* That wasn't the happiest ending in the world, obviously. Which was worse? Chapter 7 or Chapter 8's ending, and why? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it ended on a somber note. If you realized, in canon, Castor is Pollux's brother. Thalia cheated on her boyfriend with her boyfriend's brother essentially.<strong>

**Well... that is all for today. I plan on having Chapter 9 out tomorrow, mid-afternoon entitled Appealing to the Artist's Eye with RachelxTravis as the pairing to pick on this time. That ending will be much more happy than the last two. As always, please don't forget to leave a review of my story, telling me what you thought. You're comments are invaluable. While you're at it, give this story a follow or favorite, give me as an author a follow or favorite if you truthfully enjoy my writing, and even PM if you're lonely. I'm always up for that. I'll see you tomorrow! I love you all!**

**~Paradigm**


	9. Chapter 9: Appealing to the Artist's Eye

**Hey everyone! Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter in Almost in Love, #9: Appealing to the Artist's Eye. Our two characters pushed together in a scenario are Miss Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Mr. Travis Stoll. Wow... all I can say is wow... This story is 4th most viewed story on my profile and it's only been up for one week. You guys are amazing! Hard to believe that is chapter nine already, and it's time for the end of Almost in Love. You guys have stuck through the thick and thin- saw couples fall in love... and some even fall apart. It all just means so much to me to know that you guys care about my writing this much. All the response I've gotten really means a lot. I never expected the type of response I received. **

**The song for this chapter is Give It Up sung by Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gilles from the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious. This song works perfectly for how Travis and Rachel's relationship develops throughout the chapter. This is the chapter that truly connects everything together, like I said it would.**

***Note* All characters in this story are 21 or older. All characters know each other, unless stated otherwise. The setting is New York City, and the story is set in AU. Please enjoy Chapter Nine of Almost in Love, Appealing to the Artist's Eye.**

***Note 2* This is the final chapter of the story. Warning- Suggestiveness of relations are riddled in this chapter.**

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><p>Travis Stoll was well known in Manhattan for owning one of the finest eateries in the city, Travis's Café. Albeit the name was simple, and maybe even cheesy at that, this restaurant was truly a golden spot to visit while making your way to the Big Apple. Travis, alongside his brother Connor, ran the business back and forth, every other week. Travis was kind, loyal, faithful, and above all, selfless. That personality trait wafted off him when people chatted with him. If you asked a single customer that came during the week he was in charge, that person would give just senseless praise. Travis Stoll was just that type of person.<p>

Rachel Dare, who never spoke of her middle name which was Elizabeth... well... she was the opposite of Travis. She was a stuck-up, arrogant, selfish, and very, very pretty girl with an ego that was larger than life. With her striking ginger hair, people would always remember the name Rachel if you met her. She was an artist, a freaking good one at that. In 2008, a whole museum was even made to commemorate for her accomplishments. It was promptly closed in one month because no one came to the building. No one could stand to be around her, let alone to revel in what she's managed to do in her short 25 years. Instead of being a renown painter like she wanted, she was stuck being an highschool art teacher for students who wanted the program. Alongside Nico di Angelo, the two of them taught classes during the day, and adult classes at night for twenty five dollars a lesson, three times a week, for seven weeks. By then, under her and Nico's care, you were an artiste, or in Rachel's words; one step below her, but still good nonetheless. Notice how she uses the word 'good'.

So... how could you explain the phenomenon that was Travis Stoll and Rachel Dare being best friends? If their personalities were complete opposite of one another, then how on Earth could them two of them be the best of buds? No one they were friends with, Hazel, Frank, Luke, Reyna, Will, or Pollux could explain why. They just were, and that's all there was to it. Travis was a very selfless man, he always put people before himself. Rachel used that to her advantage, her selfish attitude grabbing onto that particular trait of Travis's and holding onto it.

The worse problem that came into play with Travis and Rachel's so called 'friendship', was that Travis never had felt selfish once for the ten years they'd known each other. When Travis met the emotion called love, it threw everything out of proportion. Love meant to be selfish towards someone, you wanted to be with that one person no matter what got between you and the said individual.

Travis decided to play all his cards in one go, and worked up a scheme. This was probably the most selfish thing he had ever done in his life, and probably would be the most selfish thing he'd do in his lifetime. He was about to ask Rachel Elizabeth Dare out.

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><p>Travis smiled at Rachel as the two of them stopped their snowmobiles in Rachel's backyard. Rachel threw off her helmet, her cascading locks of orange sunlight causing Travis to slightly drool. He patted his side, reassured that his package was still with him. Following Rachel, he put his gloved hands in his jacket pocket. Rachel stopped at the front door to her house, and looked at Travis with uncertainty.<p>

"Okay. This is it. You're inside." she said uncomfortably, almost blocking the door.

Travis looked around his general area. A small bench was situated against the garage door, it's wood looking as if it was about to break into a million pieces in just a few seconds. A ratty old lawn chair was placed in the yard, facing the bench. Travis bit his lip. "This is the porch."

"It's uh... winterized," Rachel covered, opening her arms in a wide arc, like displaying something. Her expression sobered up, and she crossed her arms. "So Travis, tell me what? You said had something for me, but we had to do it inside. What do you gotta do in there that you couldn't do out here, huh?"

Travis revealed the package he was carrying. It was small, almost board thin, and about 16x16 in size. It was covered with a turkey and cornucopia speckled wrapping paper. "Well... I got something here for ya," he said, thrusting the wrapped item into Rachel's hands. "Here."

"What's this?" Rachel questioned, pushing the object into Travis's grasp.

He looked at the picture, his face crestfallen. "It's... it's... it's," Travis stuttered, looking lost. His face lit up. "Boy, that was tonight Rachel!" he shouted jubilantly, trying to change the subject.

She smiled back at him with the same enthusiasm. "Yeah, sure was!"

"I mean twenty miles out there!" Travis said, mystified.

"Yep!"

"Beans and franks at my restaurant before heading out."

"Those were indeed delicious, Travis!"

"Twenty miles back, and a couple of beers at the Ginger Ale Company." Travis continued marveling.

"Awesome!" Rachel yelled.

"And boy, you flew on your new sled!" Travis praised, nudging Rachel in the shoulder.

"Well, it's a Polaris, Travis. It'll kick anything's ass." Rachel deflected the praise with a _no duh _response.

"Boy... you surely whooped my butt!"

"Yeah! That's what you get for riding an Artic Cat, Travis! You get your butt whooped! _And_, the best thing is, _I _whooped it!" Rachel gloated.

"I know!" Travis acknowledged her.

"Whooped it." Rachel repeated.

"I know Rachel... I know." Travis said softly, starting to get a tag bit annoyed with her boasting.

Rachel slugged him in the arm. Even though she was a girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare knew how to throw a pretty gnarly punch. "Whooped your butt Artic Cat Man!"

Travis nearly dropped the painting in shock. He rubbed his arm in agony. "I know, I know! I'm not saying _you _didn't."

Rachel relaxed, her expression smug. "That sure was fun."

Silence passed between the two of them momentarily. Travis cleared his throat, looking down at his wrapped gift. "So, this is um... well... we've been together now-"

"_Together_?" Rachel scoffed.

"Well-"

"Travis, what do you mean by _together_?"

"Well, we've been friends for quite a few years now, and-"

"You getting all girl on me?" Rachel laughed, raising an eyebrow mockingly.

"Shh," Travis shushed her, placing a finger to her lips. Removing his finger, he grabbed his wrapped package again. "And... here." he said, thrusting the gift back at her.

"What are you doing here Travis?"

"Open it!" Travis invited the notion.

"Together? Um... I don't know about this."

"Just open it!" he sighed in exasperation.

Rachel grabbed the wrapped gift and sat on the bench, huffing the entire time; for she knew this was a war she was not going to win. Travis sat next to her, on the left side of the bench. Rachel grabbed the wrapping paper and tore it to shreds. She stared at the wooden square in her hands with confusion. "What is it?"

Travis looked flabbergasted. "What do you mean what is it? Can't you see what it is?"

Rachel squinted at the object. "It's a picture."

"Yep." Travis confirmed.

"A painting?"

"Yep."

"Well, then where did you get this? It looks homemade!" Rachel observed, looking at her best friend.

"What do you mean by it looks homemade?!" Travis asked, yelling slightly.

"It looks like someone really painted it. Painted it good by what I can tell."

"Well... someone really _did _paint it." Travis supplied.

Rachel blinked, the information processing in her head. "Did you paint this?"

Travis nodded. "Yep."

"For me?"

"Yep."

Rachel looked at the picture, then back at Travis, then the painting, then back at Travis. "Why?"

"Well-" Travis started to explain, looking very hurt.

Rachel wasn't an idiot to realize she just insulted someone she cared deeply about. "I mean, thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

"There you go, that's what people say," Travis jumped over her. "There you go! You're very welcome."

Rachel scrutinized the picture. Due to her being an artist, her over appealing eye made note of everything. "So Travis, I didn't know you _painted_."

"Yeah. Um, you have it upside down," Travis said, flipping the block of wood back over. "Yeah... I do. I'm taking that adult art class thing you do at night. I have Nico helping me. I think he's doing a real good job on helping me make it. This is my version of one of those stare-at-it-until-you-see-the-thing things. You've ever seen one of those? The old painters back in the day did it with dots and called it pointillism. I assume you've heard of it. Instead of dots, I used a whole bunch of blocks of colors. Now, if you look at the blocks of colors only, it's just colors. But, if you step back and look at the whole thing, it's not just a bunch of blocks of colors anymore. It's a picture of something!" he said, explaining his masterpiece.

"Picture of what," Rachel asked. "I mean, I know I've been in this field of the arts since birth and all, but I can't figure out what you painted. I'm not trying to be rude, but I can't figure it out."

Travis laughed. "I'm not going to tell you. You have to figure it out yourself."

"Oh come on Travis!"

"No... it can be frustrating."

"Well, why the hell would you give me something that's gonna _frustrate _me?"

"No, I'm not meaning it like that. I mean, you just gotta not _try _to look for anything. That will be frustrating. You have to kinda look at it, so it doesn't know you're looking at it."

Rachel looked at Travis as if he was talking in a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Japanese. "Err... what? What are you going on about?"

Travis got up from his spot on the bench and grabbed the picture from Rachel's hands. He walked over to the lawn chair and set the picture down on the chair. Then, walking equidistance from the bench and the lawn chair, he stood firmly in place. "You gotta trick it," he explained. To demonstrate, he walked a few steps, then swiveled his head around at the painting. "Trick it," he repeated, doing the same maneuver over again, this time a little farther up than before. "Trick it," he called out for the third time, peeking another glance at the picture. He turned to Rachel, who watched him numbly. "See? You gotta not let it know. Hopefully you'll eventually see what it is! It's a common thing, a lot of people can do it." he said, offering his hand to Rachel.

She grabbed it and stood. Travis sat in her spot. Rachel looked at him with uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

Travis nodded. Rachel sighed, and made her way to where he had stood moments earlier. She walked a little bit, and swung her head back to the painting. Rachel walked some more, repeated the movement. She gave up. "This is stupid! I don't see anything!"

"No, Rachel," Travis tried to override her. "You were doing good!"

"Travis!" Rachel snapped, placing her hands on her hips.

Travis put his hands up, "Okay... um... do this then," he suggested, walking to her position. "Just do what you usually do around the house at night, and then check it out _real _casual like, and..."

"I usually have a Bud and talk to you on the phone." Rachel finished the statement.

Travis's face lit up. "Perfect," he made his way to Rachel's front door. "I'll get you a Bud, and you can talk to me."

"N-n-n-n-no, no!" Rachel said hurriedly, racing to stop Travis from entering her house.

"What?" he asked in annoyance.

Rachel looked for something to lie about. "I'm out of Bud, Travis. I've only got Natty Lite to drink."

Travis frowned, but shrugged. "Alright. I'll get you a Natty Lite and-"

"No, just don't!"

"Why not? Come on Rachel! Let's go inside and get us a couple of beers!" Travis shouted at his best friend, the ticked meter starting to rise for the first time ever.

"No! We gotta trick this thing remember," Rachel spoke fast, averting her attention back to the painting in the lawn chair. "See, I'm tricking it! I'm tricking it! I'm tricking it," she announced, moving her head back and forth between the picture and Travis so fast that she was giving herself whiplash.

Travis sighed, and rubber his hands over his face. He marched up to Rachel, who was so absorbed in figuring out the picture. "It's what people who've known each other for a long time do. Come on! Quit it! HEY!" he screamed. Rachel stopped abruptly.

"What Travis?"

"How many years have I known you, huh? I come all the way to your house every Friday night that I can, and I've _never _been inside your house for beers? That's unnatural. It's unnatural. So, you know what? Let's do what the natural thing is to do and go inside and get us a couple of beers!" Travis started yelling.

Rachel began to hop on the loud noise train. "I don't care what it is, I gotta trick this thing. Hey! Hey-hey-hey Travis! Quit running your _suck_! I gotta look at this thing!" she shouted, marching over to the painting. She grabbed it, and tried to stare it through it's inter soul.

Travis walked to her. "You're doing it wrong!" he complained.

"Shush!" Rachel hissed.

"You have to trick it, Rachel. Just trick it!"

Rachel held a finger up. "Hey-hey-hey! Hold it! Okay, Travis, okay. I got something!"

Travis's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I sure do," Rachel replied assuredly, sitting on the bench while Travis hovered over her. She paused, checking over it once more. "Yeah. It's... it's... you painted road kill!"

"What?" Travis asked, horrified.

"Yep! Dead raccoon in the middle of the road."

"What? No, that's not what it is!"

Rachel tried again. "Okay. How about deer?"

"What? No! Rachel! It's not a deed deer in the middle of the road!"

"Okay... um... it's a moose!" Rachel guessed, looking very pleased with herself.

"_What?_" Travis gasped, his face paling.

"Dead, bloody moose in the middle of the road."

"RACHEL," Travis screamed at the top of his lungs. "No! No! That's not something I'd want to _paint_! That's not even close to what it is! Dead _moose_? Come on!" he shouted belligerently, storming off to the lawn chair.

Rachel puffed a tuff of hair out of her face. She stood, and placed the painting back in the chair. "Well that's what I see. Don't get _mad..._ Jeezum Crow."

Travis's expression softened. He stepped closer to Rachel, his face starting to have sweat drip off. "You don't see what it is?"

"No."

"Well, can I give you a hint?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Rachel said nonchalantly.

To answer Rachel's question, Travis grabbed Rachel by her waist and kissed her. He closed his eyes immediately, and Rachel semi-closed hers. She was about to close her eyes fully when she realized what was going on. She pushed Travis away with a shove, shuddering.

"What?" Travis asked in his defense, confused about Rachel's sudden disdain.

"What are you doing Travis? What was that? Why did you do that?" Rachel questioned, getting closer and closer to Travis with every breath, her face turning red in fury.

"I was just giving you a hint-" Travis started to explain.

"Well, don't ever do that again, ever! You know what else? You can get out of here!" Rachel snarled in his face, pushing him. She marched back to her front door.

"Jeezum Crow," Travis muttered under his breath. He began to storm back to his snowmobile when an even bigger thought popped into his head. "_HEY RACHEL!" _he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Rachel was just about to go inside. "What?"

"You really are what they say!" Travis yelled.

"What do they say?"

"That you're a little hung up there!" Travis replied.

Rachel slammed her door and ran at Travis, grabbing him by his coat collars, bringing him up to her neck. "Who says that?"

She dropped Travis, who rubbed his neck. He bit his lip. "Everybody..."

"Everybody _who_?" she barked.

"Everybody, Rachel. It's what people in the city say." Travis answered nervously, wringing his coat in his hands.

"When?"

"When they're _talking_," Travis sneered. "They say that you're a little hung up there, and that I gotta be a little persistent there! You wanna know something? I think for once, they were right!"

"Who says that? Who's they?" Rachel demanded to know.

Travis swallowed, knowing he was about to throw a few people under the bus. "Bianca."

"_Bianca_?" Rachel repeated the name, in hurt.

"Yeah... and Pollux-"

"Bianca and Pollux _Match _say that I'm a little hung up there, and that you got to be a little persistent there?"

"Yeah..." Travis confessed, looking down at his shoes.

"Who else?" Rachel asked, her voice soft.

"Annabeth." Travis responded.

"_Annabeth_?"

"Yeah... and Will..."

"Annabeth and _Will_?"

"Yeah... and Percy and Nico..."

"_Percy and Nico_?"

"Chris and Clarisse..."

"_Chris and Clarisse_?"

"Reyna and Connor..."

"_Reyna_?"

"Then you have Leo, and Piper. Hazel... and Frank. Katie... and even Luke..." Travis finished, counting on his fingers.

"_Luke_?!" Rachel repeated, her voice full of disbelief. For Luke Castellan to say that about someone, it must be pretty damn true.

"That's just to name a few." Travis said softly.

"Well... why would they all... I mean, I love all of them. I'm good to them. Why would they say that about me? I mean, that's _talking _about me. That's... that's mean." Rachel whispered, looking deeply hurt.

Travis rubber her back. "No Rachel," he sighed. "I don't think they were being mean. I think they said that to me about you to kinda warn me into what I was getting myself into with you. Cause they like me. They like you. They entertain the idea of _us._ They're rooting for us, Rachel."

"Who's rooting for us?" Rachel questioned, unclear of what her best friend was getting at.

"Everybody! Luke, and Chris, and Clarisse, and Percy, and Nico-"

"They never told _me _that they were rooting for us-"

"Well, that's because you're a little hung up there," Travis admitted, laughing. "Just, I'm sorry if I made you mad. I don't know what I even did wrong! I just gave you a simple kiss! Just... why not give me one back? You know that old saying, right? Get a kiss, you then gotta _give _a kiss. Get a kiss, give a kiss. Very fair. Just give me a kiss Rachel!"

Rachel bit her lip, and turned her back to Travis. "I... I don't know how."

"Don't know what?" Travis questioned.

"I don't know how," she repeated. "I've never done it before."

"You've... you've never kissed?"

"I win that stupid art contest thing every year, and I work for highschool students, Travis. That type of person is not what most men wanna... want."

"Okay, now where do you get that?" Travis questioned, sincerity rising his voice.

"From _everybody_." Rachel explained.

Travis shook his head in assent. "Well then... you got it wrong Rachel. I gotta tell you... there are _a _lot of guys that take good long looks at you," he said. Another thought came to his mind, Travis's mouth opened slightly. "Jeezum Crow Rachel. So... you never had like... relations?"

"Oh no!" Rachel confessed, blushing a terrible shade of violet.

Travis whistled. "Well gosh... I think that's kinda neat," he said, turning to Rachel. "Rachel... you know what? Just give me a kiss and see what happens. I'm not gonna make fun of you or nothing, I promise."

Rachel shook her head in disagreement. She really did not want to. She looked for the painting, saw it in the lawn chair, and her face lit up. "No... no. Let's do this," she exclaimed, walking towards the picture. "Is it apples? Cherries? A big open faced rhubarb, strawberry pie?"

Travis walked up from behind her. "Let me." he offered. He spun Rachel around, grabbed her by the waist once more, and kissed her. The great thing is, Rachel did not break apart from him. Travis let go first, and Rachel blinked. She looked at the picture and gasped.

"Oh Travis! I... I see it! It's nice! It's really nice. It's good. You truly are good at this, painting I mean." she praised.

"Yeah?" Travis asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah." Rachel confirmed. This time, she took the initiative. Grabbing Travis by his jacket collar, she pulled him in for a kiss. Travis was drowned in the scent of lavender, as their tongues clashed into each other. When Rachel pulled apart gently, Travis was at a loss for words.

"And you... oh boy Rachel! You are good at _this_!" Travis complimented her.

Rachel grabbed Travis by the face and kissed him once more. "I thought it'd be hard." Another kiss, then break. "But, it's not!" Kiss, break. "At all!" Kiss break. Rachel parted from Travis again, looking into his eyes. She finally saw how gorgeous his aquamarine eyes truly were. "I... I also want to do something else... but I don't know what it is."

Travis locked eyes with Rachel, a small smile twitching his lips. "I do."

In a flash, both Travis and Rachel struggled for each other's jacket. Rachel unbuttoned Travis's jacket, throwing it off his body; Travis doing the same for her. They both ripped off their shoes and socks, standing in the cold snow. Travis unbuttoned his button down dress shirt, and ripped off his white t-shirt, leaving him bare chested. Rachel stayed in her sweater.

"What comes next?" she asked excitedly.

"Do you want to know what comes next?" Travis prodded her on.

"Yeah."

"Well... let's go inside and I'll show you." Travis said slowly, seducing his voice.

"But, wait," Rachel paused the moment. "How long will it take?"

"All night," Travis answered. Then grinning evilly, "Maybe longer."

But... we both work first shift tomorrow don't we?" Rachel added.

"Says who?" Travis asked, racing a hand down Rachel's arm.

Rachel's face lit up. "You mean call in? Like calling in sick? I'm gonna be calling in to Nico aren't I, because you and me, we aren't working first shift, or any shift tomorrow aren't we," she exclaimed. She ran to the front door, and cracked it open. "You get yourself inside here Mr. Artic Cat Man, and you show me what's next!"

Travis watched her go. He looked at his painting and grabbed it. He hugged it tight. "Holy shit... the girl I like, now love... is about to finally let me into her house." he whispered. He stared at the painting, a smile etching at his lips.

Rachel reappeared at her stoop. "Travis!" she shouted at him.

Travis jumped, and placed the painting behind him, on the bench. He ran inside the house, Rachel smacking him on his ass for good measure. Once she closed the door, Travis looked at her. "I wondering what everyone else is doing. Hazel and Frank are on a date, I know that. Luke is probably about to go to bed. Leo is at the Ginger Ale Company, where Piper is holding her bachelorette party. Reyna is doing her laundry. Clarisse and Chris are probably getting married, it's about time. Nico and Percy are doing that game of theirs. Will and Annabeth are celebrating their anniversary. Pollux... well Pollux is probably being himself, waiting on Thalia to return. And here we are, about to fall in love."

Without warning, he leaned into Rachel and kissed her. He had no idea how right he was about everything.

Outside, the moonlight shone on his painting. What did Travis Stoll paint for Rachel Dare exactly?

A heart.

That's what he painted for her.

He had painted her a heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that is it my fellow readers! That was chapter nine of Almost in Love, Appealing to the Artist's Eye! So, tell me, who are you now going to be shipping because of this story? I will always ship Annabeth and Will, and now Pollux and Thalia. I'm grateful to have you fellow readers, because without you, I wouldn't be writing. I would appreciate that if you review, answer these two questions.<strong>

**1) Favorite chapter, and why?**

**2) Favorite character and why?**

**Besides that, don't forget to drop a follow or favorite on the story or myself if you really enjoyed it! I'll see you all Wednesday, with a new chapter in my Hunger Games story Capitol's Strike. I love you all!**

**~Paradigm **


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